Be careful of the hidden pond

That’s not a sign you expect to see in a garden is it, but it’s one that greets you as you enter the Summer Wildlife Garden at Barnsdale Gardens. That’s garden 14 out of the 38 there, and is what I can only describe as the equivalent of a gardener’s theme park. It’s also the Gardeners’ World home of former presenter Geoff Hamilton, and where the programme was filmed at the time.

The way the gardens are laid out make them easy to take inspiration for domestic gardens, it’s so easy to imagine how they might work and that you’ve just stepped out of a house and into the garden. I think this photo shows exactly what I mean.

The hidden pond is in a corner of the grass and the paved stepping stones aim to lead you on a safe route, though I imagine with the planting the pond is easy to miss, so wouldn’t work for everyone. But it’s a great spot.

The garden was created using principles outlined in the BBC’s Living Garden series and includes features to attract wildlife and safe places for them to live and hibernate. The plants too have been chosen to encourage wildlife and give them reasons to stay. The honeysuckle, hebe, rose and foxgloves, as well as the hostas all have their part to play, as does a spot to sit and enjoy the space and its inhabitants.

The other endearing feature in the garden is the bird bath - as well as providing a space for birds it gives a focus point for the lawn. I love its column and could imagine sitting in the garden, enjoying the space and letting my eyes wander and wander through every spot. A totally relaxing space, don’t you think?

The kitchens at Belvoir Castle

I don’t know about you, but I find kitchens in large stately homes fascinating, and those in castles even more so. Above stairs at Belvoir was fantastic, but below stairs even more so - maybe it’s because I know my place, or maybe its the industriousness of them, but I know they’re always worth a look. The old kitchen at Belvoir Castle was at the centre of a series of rooms which includes larders, stores and rooms for the senior kitchen staff.

In this kitchen there were thirty plus staff preparing meals for the family, guests and the staff. It doesn’t bear to think how much food and drink was prepared in this space with its coal fired ranges and glorious copper pots and pans. And let’s not even think about keeping it or those pans absolutely gleaming.

The simplicity of the wooden lead-lined sink on tiled pillars tell its own story - and can most probably tell us many, many stories of its own.

One of the other rooms that was open to visit was The Pastry, which had a dual purpose. For what it’s named after - there’s a marble slab set below the window, which I don’t seem to have captured, but that was designed to provide a cool, dry and calm area where the cook could prepare delicate pastries and more I’m sure.

The room was also used as a space for the cook and kitchenmaids as a dining room and rest room, and it looks much more like the country kitchens we’re more familiar with - complete with some metal signs and tins that I’d be very happy to own myself.

Seeing these spaces empty is as I said before fascinating, and I bet even my most realistic visualisations are a patch on what life in kitchens like these were really like. I think I much prefer being able to imagine what it might be like, rather than experiencing them first hand - cooking meals for more than two people can be stressful enough, especially as there’s been really little opportunity to do that over the past few years.

Vibrant interiors at Belton House

Despite the grey clouds below we stopped off at Belton House when we were staying close by last August - not quite the day we hoped for, but visiting somewhere with space indoors was a popular choice. It’s not a house I was familiar with, and we hadn’t visited before but it was clear that it was a popular place.

It’s a pretty impressive house, and the family - generations of Brownlows - commissioned the finest designers and craftsmen to deliver what is now a National Trust property. The house and gardens showcase cutting edge design and innovation including 17th century sash windows and a glorious cast iron-framed orangery which I’ll share in a future post.

Our visit started in the large and grand hall, with a vibrant carpet up the stairs and the classic chequerboard patterned floor. The suitcases discarded on the stairs gave an indication of the character of the place, and under the stairs - and not quite like the under the stairs storage that we’re more familiar with - was one of the first stunning pieces of furniture, an ornate laquered chest.

I was also rather taken with this very ornate writing desk, and I know it’s the many compartments and sections that are part of the appeal. But also it’s the scale and how it fits with its surroundings. Clearly it’s larger than standard furniture, but oh so stunning.

But it wasn’t the only jewel in the room, this restored lapis lazuli cabinet which was brought back from a Grand Tour over 300 years ago. Isn’t it stunning?

It wasn’t the only cabinet, or fireplace, or collection of vases that caught my eye and intrigued me.

And it seems that greyhounds were a bit of a thing for the family too - the table above, the doorplate below and outside on the weather vane.

Like many National Trust properties the rooms are vibrantly decorated, these rooms though remain vibrant I’m sure through recent restoration - the reds, golds and greens are very rich and point to a lavish and indulgent lifestyle.

Definitely ornate, and quite over the top - but I guess if you had money, and this family did, it was the done thing to show that for your standing in society. In some ways that’s not so different from today, whether we agree with it or not. The house, and its gardens, are definitely worth a visit - there’s so much to do, and so much to see.