Friday 18 April 2014

Garden Visiting In April - Part One

I'm visiting a garden each month through 2014 and whilst searching for somewhere to visit in April, I came across Lister Park in Bradford. It's situated about a mile outside the city centre and has recently been renovated. The thing which attracted me here was that I read it had botanical gardens. After reading this, I was expecting more than I actually found, but it was a lovely morning out last Saturday, nevertheless.


There was plenty of water around the gardens, little streams running through, waterfalls and bridges over the running water.




Archie certainly enjoyed his morning out and found plenty to keep his attention, including two ducks.



This waterfall is a replica of Thornton Force near Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales. It illustrates a geological theory.


We were a little late for the full hellebore display, but the tulips were just starting to put on a lovely show to compensate.



I'm fascinated by ferns and how they unfurl their fronds.



There was a fabulous patch of wild garlic, it didn't quite have that full pungent smell about it, I suppose that will come in time.


I find corkscrew hazel really weird, how the branches are so contorted. This is a shrub I'd love to have in my own garden, if only I had room.



You can tell that the pieris and the blueberry are from the same family of plants by the flowers, they're so similar.



I don't really know what I was expecting from this garden, there were plenty of plants to see, some plants which I knew and some which I didn't. There were information boards but no plant labels, though perhaps it would be hard to maintain them in a public park. I think it would be good to go back and see how the garden fills out in the summer.





I've done a post over on my Through The Keyhole blog about other aspects of Lister Park, so do please pop over there to have a read.

This wasn't the end of our garden visit in Lister Park. There was another, more unusual, garden to see which I'll show you in my next post.


24 comments:

  1. We had a corkscrew hazel in our garden but to be honest once it leafed up it just looked to be a messy jumble. We dug it up and took pieces to the plot that had 'straightened' which is the origin of our large hazel bushes that we harvest the poles from.

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    1. It's a shame that the contorted branches aren't more visible the whole year round. At least it wasn't wasted, it's turned out to be a very useful shrub for you on the plot.

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  2. Those shots up the stream with the bridge in the background are lovely. :)

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    1. Thank you, it's a very pretty garden with streams running through it and lots of bridges.

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  3. It looks an interesting visit. I love how ferns unfold too, I wish I could could film them and then speed it up! Have a lovely Easter.

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    1. I've never grown ferms, I think I should add one or two to my garden. Thank you, Happy Easter to you too.

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  4. Beautiful and inspiring. Thanks for sharing. I dream to make a garden with a little stream inside. It's my dream since a long time ago, cause it always remind me to my childhood in the highland that there're so many creeks and stream.

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    1. What a lovely dream to have and also the reason behind it. It sounds a wonderful place where you grew up. I love gardens with water running through them.

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  5. It looks a wonderful walk round Jo, you have taken some lovely photos. Hope you have a Happy Easter.

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    1. Thank you. It's a lovely place for a walk with lots of different plants to see, I'm sure it will be even better in summer when everything gets going. Happy Easter to you too.

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  6. That patch of Wild Garlic appeals to me! I don't expect I will ever get to have a patch that big, but everyone has a dream (as other commenters have demonstrated!). Did the place have a gift shop (with plant sales), I wonder? Your "Buy a plant every month" scheme from last year could easily be combined with your current "Visit a garden every month" you know. :)

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    1. I don't know, I think the patch of wild garlic you've planted in your garden is making a bid for takeover already, you never know. There wasn't anywhere here which sold plants but I'm sure that some of the other gardens I visit throughout the year will do. I really don't need any encouragement to buy more plants, even though there isn't an awful lot of room left in the garden to plant them.

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  7. A most enjoyable post, and terrific photos, about somewhere I'm sure that I'd enjoy wandering round. Flighty xx

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    1. Thank you. There's a good selection of plants in the garden, I'm sure you'd enjoy looking around here.

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  8. It should be lovely in the summer, especially with a picnic that you could have by the water. I love ferns too but they are taking over the hedgerow and are impossible to dig up.xxx

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    1. It should. It would be nice to return and see what other plants pop up between now and then. I've never grown ferns but I'm always fascinated by them.

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  9. hello jo,
    what a wonderful walk. thanks for sharing!! i love all the photos!!!
    love regina

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    1. It's a lovely place for a walk, and so much to see.

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  10. Looks a peaceful spot to stretch your legs Jo. Archie certainly looks engrossed. I like corkscrew hazels too - have seen them grown in large pots which looks most effective. Great for flower arrangments.

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    1. There weren't many people around so we had the gardens just about to ourselves. Archie likes a nice walk, though he had to be on his lead in the gardens otherwise he'd have been straight in the stream, he loves water. I'd never thought of growing a corkscrew hazel in a pot, I bet that could look fabulous.

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  11. Some great views and photos. Looks like a lovely place for walking and exploring.

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    1. Thank you. It was really interesting, lots of things I didn't photograph too, so plenty to see and explore.

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  12. I do like this style of public garden with the winding paths, streams and bridges and it would be interesting to return at a different season to see what's new. Archie looks as if he enjoyed the walk, too!

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    1. I think it would definitely be good to return later in the year, I'm sure there'd be lots more things of interest to see. Archie certainly enjoys his walks.

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