From Dover to Great Dixter

The first time I went to England, I crossed the Channel from Calais to Folkstone in bad weather and never got a good look at the White Cliffs of Dover.  We took care of that during this trip:

You have to use your imagination a little to get past the evidence of modern life in this photos, but at least you can see that the cliffs are really white.  On a sunny day looking toward land from the sea, they must be quite a sight indeed.  We stopped very briefly in Dover after visiting Goodnestone (written about in yesterday's blog) before going on to our hotel.

The next day we went to visit Great Dixter by way of the Cinque Port of Rye, a medieval town where we had lunch.  This was our rainiest day, and we didn't have enough time to manage sight-seeing and lunch so it has wound up being our least successful part of the trip.  

Yet I managed to "collect" another lovely tree; this is a laburnum aka "Golden Rain" tree.  They are quite special and one sees them all over the sourtheast of England.

The Norman castle which we did not visit due to our desire to see more in the short time we had.

In the church which boasts an unusual clock with a 16 foot pendulum.  It also had on display this quilt triptych complete with stones.

After that hurried visit, we drove on to Great Dixter to see an Edwardian style garden (formal design with informal perennial plantings).  Remember it was a rainy day, darker than our other days, so the pictures will also be dark.

This is the older part of the home to which was added the portion in the photo below.

The addition was very well done; the roof lines and materials are the same, the windows and chimneys also, and the colors are harmonious.  Inside, this manor is very warm and inviting - a family place despite its size.

English oast houses (where the hops are dried) are architecturally different from ours.  The oddly shaped tops turn to catch the wind which helps in the drying process.

I didn't do a very good job of taking photos of the "formal beds with informal perennial plantings", but I took pictures of things that caught my eye.  The steps above have plants happily growing in among the stones.

As does the wall beside those steps.  This informality in the gardens is something I really liked and found charming.

Can't pass up waterlilies.

Lovely even on a gray day!

One of my favorite corners of the garden.  The stones used in the base of the chimney are limestone which you find as building material all over the southeast of England.  Depending on where it is quarried, it has a different color - from gray to cream to yellow - and it's all gorgeous.