Lancelot 'Capability' Brown 1716 - 1783

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, a set on Flickr.

A group of photographs which highlight the baptism, marriage and burial locations for Lancelot Brown, the renowned 18thC Northumbrian Landscape designer. Photographs also appear on dedicated blog post:
http://gardener-gary.blogspot.com/2011/10/stowe-landscape-gardens.html

Dunster Castle - Wood 2006

2011 in the Grounds at Compton Verney, July to December.

This post about the grounds at Compton Verney, picks up from a previous one, and continues a photographic record from July 2011 through to December. I have effectively sifted through my collection of images from last year, and added those that give an insight to the interesting and varied times we have had. If you haven't yet visited, there's more to Compton Verney than these photo's alone can show, and we open again for business at the end of March. All the important links to information are at the bottom of the post.  

July

The first art work by Laura Ellen-Bacon was installed at

Compton Verney during early summer 2011 residency.  

Using woven Willow, the form appears to grow from within

the gnarled trunk of a Yew tree located near the obelisk.    

The willow is stripped before delivery, and days of finger numbing

twisting and weaving went into its creation. Further works were

created during the summer, to be seen later in this post.

2011 in the Grounds at Compton Verney, January to June.

Well, last year was certainly a busy one for me personally, and especially so for all at my place of work - Compton Verney. For my area of focus, that of grounds maintenance and development, its nice to get to this point at the end of one year/start of another, and take a little time to look back. Some of my posts last year showed a glimpse of grounds activity at Compton, and to round these off, I thought I'd choose a selection of photographs from the year’s activity to show just some of the tasks we've been involved with.

To set the scene a little: The grounds team, in their present form have moved into a second year together, and now stand at four members – two staff, two volunteers. Not a huge team by some examples, but together during 2011 we've been able to tackle some long standing tasks and also progress restoration and developments in key areas of the grounds. If visitor reaction is anything to go by, we can't be doing too badly, and I for one can see the gardening potential at Compton Verney – there's a long way to go yet, but there's much more potential awaiting release. The year proved interesting and challenging in so many ways, and with a tinge of fatigue, I can say with strength that all our efforts as a grounds team have been worthwhile.

We are set for a challenging year once again, and I look forward to seeing the earliest snowdrop open, the first tree blossom burst, and the juiciest fruits form. I can’t wait for the belts to tighten and the mower blades to whirl into action, and for the herbs to shoot forth from the warming grounds of the ice house coppice. I’m eager to see the lake jumping with healthy fish, the kingfisher dashing past the flags, and the rods poised for the catch. Can’t wait for that warming sun either!

I feel another busy year coming on, but before we get stuck into it, here’s a quick flash through 2011 to display some of the photographs taken along the way. Below is January through to June, with the second half of the year due to be posted later this week. Enjoy!

January

  


Surveying began for restoration of the Elm avenue. Tree positions

marked as accurately as possible, and just visible in a distant field

from the mansion.