Hidden head

Intentional Garden Design – Reviewing the Walk

The details of this Dorset garden, where my walk this week took place, show just the kind of garden I like – informal but with elements of intentional design.

hanging basket

It is a mistake, in my opinion, to try to control nature – nature will always come out on top in the end – but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy arranging different aspects of it in our gardens. That is how we end up with  interesting collections of patterns and textures connecting the man-made with the moss, the rust with the rose hips. Continue reading

rust wave

Growth and Abandon

Exploring some details on my walk this week, I found growth and abandon simultaneously in this Dorset garden. Nature will always take over if given the chance and in the broken leg of an old swing, it found an ideal opportunity.

broken swing

RGB or red, green and blue I found in the plastics which never disintegrate however long they are left while the patterns of rusty metal could tell or prompt any number of stories. You could weigh inContinue reading

Pwll Du beach

Our Gower Project Walk 2 – Pwll Du Bay, Wet and Dry

The second stage of the second of the Our Gower project walks brought us out from the muddy woodland of Bishopston Valley to the unique beach of Pwll Du. It is unique because of its deposit of stones build up over decades of limestone quarrying in the 19th century. Below the stones is a normal sandy beach and wet or dry, it is a very attractive South Gower cove.

Walking on stones

The first day I walked this route with a school, it was wet. Like the mysteriousness of the valley woods, there was atmosphere in the bay as well. The sea fret contributed to this along with the huge piles of stonesContinue reading

Fuchsia

Autumn Reds in the Garden

I am lucky enough to have a long garden down which to walk each morning and enjoy the changing colours, patterns and textures it presents along the way. I don’t know what I would do without this resource for my wellbeing. Being outside my door, it is the closest that nature could be to me and much as I enjoy my walks to local marshes, woods, hills and further afield, I don’t know how I would manage without our garden as well.

dogwood

The reds are really coming through now, but there is more to come as Autumn proceeds. For now we have the berries, rosehips, fuchsia and dogwood.

I’m not one for controlling nature but if we didn’t do some maintenance jobs, it wouldn’t be long before we couldn’t move in the place. And so the garden heap is still waiting for a convenient dry evening to be burnt before the cuttings from the pruning of our cherry tree can be moved into place to await their turn for a bonfire.

Chapel Alley Fulford

Heading for Chapel Alley

My walk this week is a circular one and at this stage I am three quarters round the circle and heading back to Fulford and Chapel Alley. Fulford is on the edge of York City and the main street is busy with traffic going out to the ring road. So I was pleased on my previous walk along this route, to have found Chapel Alley as a short cut that took me away from the noise and fumes.

Fulford Road

If you can read the sign in image 4 then you will see where the Chapel Alley used to lead – but really, it’s pretty obvious! I liked the feel of the narrow alley,Continue reading

fresh onions

Contents of a Rusty Shed

Before leading my group on our silent walk for WWAMH at Clynfyw Care Farm, I found myself attracted to a large rusty shed, the contents of which ranged from more rusty currugated iron sheets to freshly picked onions.

rusty shed roof

The colours and patterns of the ageing construction materials and the contrasting fresh patterns and colours of onions “relaxing” on tables and boards propped up by garden chairs, I found particularly exciting – visually of course!Continue reading

marina water patterns

Floating in the Marina

Returning through Swansea Marina on my walk this week didn’t mean I was floating on the water but did allowed me to enjoy the many complex and fluid patterns to be found there.

marina floats

The masts and rigging, the architecture – both old and new – and of course the water patterns and reflections of the surrounding structures, whether maritime or land based. Continue reading

inner stone

Stone Hunting

You can’t let the weather stop you when it comes to stone hunting or if you prefer, beach combing.

In fact wet weather can be a bonus as the colours will be highlighted by the water. I have been very selective in my choice of images below but perhaps Continue reading