Canterbury and Goodnestone

Another day with photos, but for those of you who have asked, today you will see the first garden we visited (not counting Kensington which was an informal visit).

First let me explain that I adored Chaucer and relished reading the Canterbury Tales. Learning about the development of our language, the standardization of spelling, the pronunciation of Middle English - all these things were a delight for me, and the stories?  Oh my, what's not to like about the stories Chaucer told?  Now, having admitted to all that, I will tell you to relax because you won't be subjected to any of it.  We didn't tour the Cathedral or the Canterbury Tales Museum.  D wanted to see the restoration of the Roman building that had been unearthed in Canterbury so that's what we did, and it was interesting - especially one part of which I took a number of pictures (quilting friends, think fabric!).

This is the town library.

I did get to see some of the cathedral!

Quilters, here's my favorite part of the Roman building!

 Aren't these fabrics grand?

Part of the old castle.  I loved the way flowers grew wherever they darn well pleased!

This is part of the original wall - like many ancient cities, Canterbury was fortified.  The wall is made of chert, a type of flint.

Here is a close up of the chert wall; it's really quite pretty.  Note the flower!

Now, on to Goodnestone (pronounced Gunstun) where Jane Austen is supposed to have begun writing Pride and Prejudice) and photos from the gardens there.

 One of the things I noticed everywhere we went and I hope to introduce in our gardens, is the attention given to the colors in foliage as well as size and texture.  In short, it's not all about flowers in great gardens.

This was the first Cedar of Lebanon tree I saw and learned what it was.  The seed was brought to England by plant hunters in the 17th century, and by the 18th century the great estates all had one.

Portrait of a rose.

View from the garden.

And another view - this reminds me of photos in magazines that I always found difficult to believe!

Roof top showing a proliferation of chimneys.

 More flower portraits - this is Astrantia,

 a single peony,

 more peonies,

 Chinese wisteria,

 and a tree in the Golden Arbor (planted by the current owner for her husband on their 50th anniversary).

 This is the village pub which, of course, we had to visit!  That's D's beer on the table.

 Windows in the pub.

And finally, the village church.