By Margaret S.
Hamilton
We’ve returned from a month-long trip to
London and Sussex, Venice, Slovenia, and Croatia. Here is a collection of
photos from the various gardens and national parks we visited.
Chelsea Physic Garden, London: Four acres of
4500 medicinal and edible plants nestled behind a brick wall in its own
microclimate next to the Thames River.
Fenton House, London: Walled gardens next to a
seventeenth-century house in Hampstead. A neighboring house is where the admiral in Mary Poppins shot off his cannon every day. True story!
Queen Mary’s Rose Gardens in Regent’s Park,
London: Founded in the thirties, the circular rose garden showcases 12,000 rose
bushes.
South Downs, Sussex: We spent a glorious day with old friends hiking along the chalk cliffs. Where the grassy cliff tops meet the sky and pounding surf. Virginia Woolf's country house was nearby.
Torcello, Venice: the remote island site of
the original settlement at the northern end of the Venice lagoon, quiet, with
fewer tourists.
Isola di San Michele, Venice: Cemetery Island
between Venice and Murano. A peaceful and serene place to contemplate memories.
Lake Bled, Slovenia: A lovely lake surrounded
by holiday homes and hotels. Motor boats are prohibited, so we rode to the
island in a wooden boat propelled by an oarsman with two oars.
Zagreb Botanical Garden, Croatia: One of the
most beautiful and best-organized botanical gardens I’ve visited, complete with
a Japanese bridge and the local university hybridization gardens.
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia: Sixteen lakes and 90 waterfalls created by tufa formations surround a maze of steps and steep trails. A popular and crowded park.
Krka National Park, Croatia: A less-rugged park with seven waterfalls and woodland trails
Fabulous pictures. Looks like a wonderful trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was a memorable trip!
DeleteI'm delighted you had such a good trip.
ReplyDeleteMe too! No glitches, though we had to sail through open water early to reach Dubrovnik ahead of the dreaded southern wind.
DeleteWhat a great trip and what great pictures! Thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteSo much fun! We knew Venice well enough to avoid the tourist areas and head to the islands in the lagoon.
DeleteSo pretty, Margaret!
ReplyDeleteThere are few things more beautiful than a English herbaceous border in lush fall bloom.
DeleteHow majestic! You've had such wonderful travels. One of my favorite gardens was the Montreal Botanical Garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Korina. On my list with Vancouver.
DeleteYou all sure get around, Margaret!! More power to you and to your husband. Me--first time I've had internet access today! Hatteras may as well be on the moon.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to the world wide web!
DeleteLovely photos, Margaret. Thank you for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kait, it was an adventure.
ReplyDeleteHave been to Plitvice National Park and use pictures of it as wallpaper for both my pad and office screens (without the people)
ReplyDeleteI was there a number of years ago and even then they had electric powered boats to cross the lakes, way ahead of other places in avoiding pollution.
If/when you go to Vancouver, I’m sure you know about Butchart Gardens just outside of Victoria.
You should also take a detour to Portland OR to visit both the rose gardens and the Japanese gardens.
The Japanese gardens are considered to be one of the best outside
of Japan.