Open garden and studios event

Have you ever done one of these? We have done Art Trails round amateur/semi professional studios before and have done lots of RHS open garden visits but this one combined our delights!

We decided on Bank holiday Monday to visit Dersingham village event. £5 each to visit up to 17 gardens and 10 were studios too, in support of the new Village Hall. The older part of the village is a delight. Lots of Carstone walls and here a old door into a garden.

This courtyard garden behind a cottage 400 years old built of Carstone (local stone) had super planting. Low maintenance raised beds and gravel/patios - so no grass mowing. Great for retirees.

This cottage garden was behind the Pottery, the wall was very old and bent but gave extra shelter to the garden and the fruit and veg was well advanced.

Monday was dull and there was wicked cold wind, by the time we got to this garden we were having a serious discussion about shelter belts! We loved the entwined willow hedge of this garden with its informal beds. We are tempted as that is achievable in a few years being fast growing.

The owner of this space apologised for the horsetail infestation, but it was not noticeable in the lush growth in this raised bed. So many varieties of Aquilegia and lupins seen in these gardens. 

It was so cold by 3pm we were concentrating on the Art studios so we could pop in out of the cold, and saw some outstanding local pottery, landscape photography, abstract glicee prints, watercolours, acrylics and pastels as well as some sewing!  I refrain from photos of other peoples art work as it their creativity and income!  All were very good.

As we are ordering a "craft cabin" soon we spent some time talking to garden owners about their beach huts (writing room); log cabins (chill out space), converted garages (studio and framing set up) and up market studio sheds and how using them all year round is handled in terms of damp etc. Very informative!

There was no rain here till late Monday night and today it could be winter. Across the road 30 flower pickers were working in the open field from 7 am in a storm with heavy gusts of rain while we hid in bed till late. 

I was glad I recorded by nice bank of lupins last week because now they are beaten down and all out of shape.

This weather will set the veg garden back quite a bit I fear.

Hope you had a nice bank holiday!