The orangery at Powis Castle

It’s been a little while since I left you admiring the terraces here, so let’s pop back today and check out the orangery - and I do love a good orangery, thankfully there’s a superb one nearby at Belton House our nearest National Trust property.

But back to Powis, and that view.

I had a good feeling about this space as we saw the multiple pots of tulips as we got closer.

And I wasn’t disappointed, though at first glance you may be wondering what on earth I was thinking.

But just look at the plants.

Though this one getting ready to flower did remind me of one of those plastic hands on a stick, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Who’d have thought this peculiar shaped thing could turn into such a beauty?

There were places to sit and enjoy, and I particularly liked this pale yellow flower as it cascaded out of its pot.

I was intrigued to see the money tree flowering, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in flower before - and I used to have a very large one on my open porch a couple of houses ago. That is until someone stole it when I was out - to this day I still don’t know how, it was huge and extremely heavy. But I guess if someone wants something badly enough, they’ll find a way.

Isn’t it a great space?

As we headed back up towards the castle we spotted these brick arches, and thought we should explore.

It was another great space, though I’m not sure what to call these as it didn’t seem to be referenced on our guide map.

You can just feel how cool it is here can’t you? I think in someways I preferred this space to the orangery, though they were completely different in feel and in planting.

And then I realised I wasn’t the only one enjoying the view, and smiled to myself once more.

Revisiting the Orangery at Belton

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get inside the orangery which is the gem at the heart of the Italian gardens on the Belton Estate - four years in fact. And in that time we’ve moved house, and closer to it, which in theory should make visiting easier, and more often. And we have visited Belton more than we have done previously, but up until now the conservatory has been closed - yes, I’ve been the one with my nose pressed up against the glass to catch a glimpse of what’s inside!

But the wait is no more; our latest visit coincided by chance with the Spring Equinox, and more importantly a lovely warm and sunny day - and the conservatory was open - yay! And it was so good to be greeted by the lush new growth of the camellias, and a few flowers too.

Like us the camellias were enjoying the warmth of the sun - these flower earlier than their outdoor plants, mainly because of the warmth - when we visited the thermostats were reading a toasty 22.5 C - and it was lovely to enjoy the shadows and dappled sun on the walkways around the main planting.

You may have noticed that I’ve been using the terms orangery and conservatory interchangeably in this post, and that’s partly because the structure now seems to be very much billed as a conservatory at Belton, and I’m sure they would know - but an orangery, sounds so much more romantic doesn’t it, even though there are no oranges growing in this one, which was their original purpose.

The camellias weren’t the only ones enjoying the warmth, the pelargoniums also had lush new growth with almost appeared to be stretching for the best view.

The corners were festooned with pots - and it seemed much fuller than our previous visit which I’m not complaining about - a favourite of mine was this large money plant - and I couldn’t help but give it a little rub, just in case.

What works so well in this space is there’s plants at every height, of every size - from the gorgeous and glossy monstera leaves to the hand sized aeoniums right at ground level, to the tree ferns and bananas reaching for the glass roof.

But anyway, this conservatory was built in 1830 for the first Earl Brownlow by Sir Jeffry Wyatville and stands on the site of an older Belton Manor which was demolished in 1688. It’s a revolutionary cast iron and glass structure, finished in local Ancaster stone and was the first domestic conservatory to be built this way.

My favourite part of this favourite building is towards the back - it’s a cooler spot, slightly less densely planted but with glorious visitas - from the plants climbing up over the door and onto the ceiling, the sculptures and the many alcoves - all filled with plants.

It really is a special space - and these two vistas and photos of them (above and below) are the ones that have made heart sing from this visit, and reminded me of the feeling I had when we first walked into Huntes Garden in Barbados, and reoccurs each time I look at those photos. Even now.

In the 1990s the conservatory closed for repairs after the iron cramps and ties used to hold the stone in place rusted and expanded causing structural damage. These and the already replaced roof was also repaired.

Amazingly at one point in its more recent history this had been used as a cafe - a fine setting for some tea and cake I’m sure, but oh so much better with plants in. On this visit I couldn’t fail to notice a couple of red flowering plants, I think the one below is a Callianthe, and below that are the more recognisable Amaryllis, also flowering.

It really is a joyous place, and still my favourite part of the gardens at Belton so I’m hoping there’ll be plenty more visits, and chances to have several more looks inside.

An autumnal wander at Belton

After a pretty dismal and completely non-inspiring stop at a motorway services on our trip to West Sussex I was pleased when MOH suggested a detour to the Belton Estate on our return trip. While we stopped earlier on the journey back, we just took a quick break and avoided repeating the previous McAwful experience (something that tasted bland, yet was overly peppery at the same time!), and let’s face it a National Trust cheese scone, pot of tea and a slice of cake would always be a much more preferable option.

Plus we got the chance to properly stretch our legs, the sun was out and it was too good an opportunity to waste. And if I was lucky I’d be able to have a nose around the orangery and see how that had changed since my last visit, and see how it was faring in a different season.

Unfortunately my luck was out, as the orangery was closed for the day - ah well, as Belton is just thirty minutes from home it gives me the perfect excuse to head back another day, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Of course, that didn’t stop me peering into through the glass though as you can see taking photos was pretty futile - though I kind of like the effect, but only for a photo or two!

All was not lost though as Belton still has plenty of beautiful gardens (and a large estate) to explore, but we were only here for a short journey-breaker this time, so treated ourselves to a wander around the area at the back of the orangery where the roses grow up the walls, and there’s medlar trees in the quadrants.

It’s also an area of the gardens which have some intricate topiary designs, which you know I’m also keen on.

It’s probably a part of the garden I overlook in my keenness to check out the orangery, so that being closed for the day was really no bad thing. Next time I’ll be sure to head for this bench so I can admire the exterior of the orangery as much as the inside!

With the orangery and the small walled garden behind it checked out, we headed to a golden tree which had caught our eye as soon as we entered the garden with its leaves appearing to burn against the bluest of skies.

The leaves seemed to ‘burn brighter’ the closer we got to the tree.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

Google tells me this is a tulip tree and with the, what I presume are, flower heads it’s easy to believe this suggestion. Looking again, it tells me that the tulip tree is part of the magnolia family and again I can see the likeness with the bud/flower head. Either way, it’s a beautiful tree and such a beautiful colour - there wasn’t a tree around it that had the same vibrancy.

There really isn’t anywhere better to wander on a bright autumnal day - let’s hope there’s more days like this to come.