Wickets in June

The view of a bridge can evoke many different responses depending on the style, setting and size of that bridge. The bridge at Wickets leads one into green pastures, quite literally. The handrails are a serene robin's egg blue with a graceful arch which spans a small pond. It can be seen from the formal garden where it teasingly beckons but one can't leave the garden rooms quickly. There is much too much to see within the portals of the gate. The gateway into the garden or, rather gardens, is on the side of the fairytale cottage. From the front of the cottage there is little to indicate the many garden rooms, lush borders and verdant pastures waiting for exploration behind the house. I saw this garden in two stages. The first lasted a good hour before our group was ushered across the street to enjoy tea and treats in a lovely community room as storm clouds gathered. During our tea the wind blew and the rain fell and once it stopped, I ventured back across the street to further explore the now rose petal laden paths. I had missed the chickens and the back seating area. It is not unusual to find several chickens clucking about a garden in England. In fact, it is unusual not to find them.  Most pictures were taken before the storm in the filtered light of a cloudy day which always produces better photographs. The exception is the one of the petal strewn grass paths and the one above of these chickens where the color difference is dramatic. The shadows are longer and darker and the colors very bright.  No English garden is complete without a gravel area and the gravel garden at Wickets is home to a lovely sculpture which views the garden from a thoughtful pose. It is off to the left side of the property. Directly behind the house is just one of the many inviting sitting areas. Breakfast on this patio would be more than divine. Lady's mantle spills across the pavers with frothy green flowers while shrub roses embrace the table. The scent is divine. The borders are impossibly lush with alliums bigger than basketballs although the full spectrum of different sized globes are well represented.  Winding paths lead one through the garden and there is always something to see along the way as the grass path travels around the property. We visited in June and there was no lack of color. I have never seen such large purple leaf elderberry shrubs or roses so lush.  The elderberry grow eight to ten feet in height in this part of Essex. Mine have never reached higher than three feet. It must be a testament to longer days and milder winters. The grass paths meander through room after garden room until finally leading over that beguiling bridge. The bridge is in the 'wild' zone and leads to a grassy knoll with a bench almost hidden by that swaying grass. It was impossible not to take a moment to sit on that bench and enjoy the view which the garden owners, Susan and Doug Copeland, admirably framed with pines on the left. Mowing the field grass in front of the knoll directs the eye to the view beyond. This garden was created with love and plant knowledge and also a keen knack for framing a view. This is a view one could ponder season upon season, year after year. I would never tire of it, would you?