The Seeds You Plant - Scenes from Northeast England

I set out to make this a post of only the highlights from our European trip in May - hopeless!  I attempted to down-select some favorite snaps, and repeatedly found myself thinking - "I can't leave that one out!"  Please enjoy these photos from Northeast England, home to my in-laws and very dear to my heart.

I believe we all know of popular sites near to our homes that we have never visited - in our case, the four of us made a first-time stop at the Durham University Botanic Garden.  While Montana weather was cold and rainy, we were mesmerized by the tulip displays.  I couldn't stop taking pictures!

The garden is set in 25 acres of mature woodland on the southern outskirts of the city.  This stand of Himalayan Birches is an excellent example of the mature woodland.  These magnificent trees are a landscaper's dream with the beautiful smooth white bark - they can grow up to 60 feet.

The garden was past its prime for daffodils, but a few of the azaleas and rhodendrons were putting on a show.

Yoko at Stardust Talk posts stunning photos of Sakura blossoms in season, so I was thrilled to see some planted within the Botanic Garden.  A close-up might have shown the blooms off to better advantage, but none of us "seasoned" folks want that!

I loved this mushroom sculpture.

Of course, no trip home is complete without a meat pie, washed down by a pint of beer.  We also hope that my husband's cousin will be performing during our visit.  Check, check, check.  These pictures were not all taken on the same day, but they represent some of our favorite traditions!

I have written several times about Hardwick Park, located 15 minutes from my in-laws and a frequent destination when our kids were young.  No visit would be complete without one walk through the Park.

Faithful readers, you know how much I adore gardens, especially flowering ones.  So, when hubby suggested a day out to Helmsley, including the Walled Garden, I had my shoes on and was waiting to be let into the car!  Built in 1759, the garden sits beneath the imposing ruins of Helmsley Castle.  

In 1900, 20 gardeners worked here, producing flowers, fruit and vegetables for the "big house" at Duncombe Park.  After the Great War, the garden was abandoned and by 1984, it was totally derelict.  Alison Ticehurst, a local nurse, first visited the garden in July 1994, looking for a place in which she could run a therapeutic horticulture program.  Alison died before her vision could be fully realized, but the dedicated staff and volunteers carried it out and continue to do so today.

As you can tell from the photos, it was a gloriously sunny day, and we took advantage of it to relish dining on the patio of The Vine House Cafe at the garden.  You can imagine that they employ fresh herbs and other ingredients from the garden, and you would be right.  The food is even better than it looks, if that is possible!

When I retrieved glasses of water for all of us, I read this quote (unattributed) on a chalk board near the ordering station.  As someone who fights (unsuccessfully) the urge to be uber-productive every day, I felt that it was written for me!

"Don't judge every day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." 

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Linking up with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday.  If you're searching for some positivity in a world that can focus too much on the negative, check it out!  The prompt for June 20 is "Did you ever go to camp as a youth - space camp, acting/music/dance camp where you went each day but slept at home?"  I did not.  As one of 7 children, I am guessing that we didn't have the funds for camps.  My "camp" was helping Dad in the garden during the summer, and being outside all the time, either by myself or with neighborhood kids.  A highlight of the summer was the massive German family reunion held at a lake in northwestern Ohio.  Tables loaded with food, paddle boats, very competitive softball, Orange and Red Crush soda pop, which we never got at home.  Good times!

Linking to Thankful Thursday

Linking to Mosaic Monday