Merriments_Great-Dixter

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Coach trip arranged by the Herts. Hardy Plant Society

The acclaimed Merriments gardens were laid out on yellow clay in the early 1980s, covering four acres. They are made up of several different areas, including the Wild Area, the colour-themed Golden Border, the Ponds & Tropical border, which were constructed only recently, and the Formal Garden. Also of interest are the Blue Gravel Garden (agapanthus, delphiniums and grasses) and the Hot Border.

The adjoining nursery has an excellent selection of plants for sale, some of which can be seen growing in the garden; their stock-list includes a number of unusual plants which should kindle a lot of interest.

There is a restaurant at Merriments selling hot meals, sandwiches and baguettes, as well as a wide selection of drinks and even desserts. There are two or three gluten-free and/or vegetarian options available, including filled jacket potatoes.

First plantings we saw by the entrance to the garden	Foxgloves abounded		possibly Rosa 'The Pilgrim'
Solanum crispum	Heuchera Peach flambé	Canal in the formal garden	Erigeron karvinskianus
Rosa Golden Wings	I like the colour combimation	Opium poppy	Judas tree
Deutzia Strawberry Fields	Valerian and Double peony	Half-0pen peony	Single peony
Linaria dalmatica	Opium poppy	Hypericum olympicum	Euphorbia myrsinites moulding to a rock
Damp gully		Delicate scent on this climbing rose	Oenothera stricta was all over the garden
Pale blues and white in flower and foliage	Cornus	Amicia zygomeris	Candelabra Primula
Opium poppies	Ox-eye daisies in the border	Yellow red hot poker	Acer griseum with rich brown peeling bark and a Eucalyptus with toning Des-Res
For Liz - Rosa 'First Great Western'
We had an early lunch in the restaurant - Meat platter with cider / beer. The food was outstanding everything grown locally and full of flavour. There was some retail therapy and we drove on to Great Dixter.

Orchids in the meadow	Great Dixter	Outside front door	Outside front door
New bamboo shoots	Antirrhinums on parade	Another display in pots	Paris polyphylla - flowers from seed in 5-7 years
One of the many varieties of annual poppy	Dianthus 'Loveliness'	Phlox paniculata var.	Rosa mutabilis
Rosa 'Cécile Brunner' Tiny little rose, but exquisite especially before it opens fully	Sweetly scented everlasting flowers	Linum grandiflorum rubrum everyone loved this plant	Paradisia liliastrum - St. Bruno's Lily
	Rusty Red lupins	Small flowered gladiolus	Annual poppies
Californian poppies in a trough	Equisetum - horsetails	Iris 'Gerald Darby'
	Berkheya purpurea - an untidy plant...
	Frilly opium poppy	Clematis	Astrantia major var.
	Lychnis × arkwrightii		Choc-a-block border
	Long border	Favourite plant again	In the long border
Long herbaceous border as a somewhat distorted panorama
Poppy	Great Dixter	Silver leaves	Wonderful Canna leaves
	Inside the Hovel	The Exotic Garden	One of my favourite flowers Aquilegia chrysantha planted en masse in a large bed
Rambler on the Hovel	Antirrhinums with a touch of blue	Daisies featured on a lawn
Dactylorhiza fuchsii	Great Dixter	Salvia sclarea 'Turkestanica'	Ox-eye daisy with cricket
Pale form of the flax		Single flowered HT rose Rosa 'Mrs Oakley Fisher'	Everlasting flowers
Tree fern	Single flowered white HT rose Rosa 'White Wings'	Umbellifer	Sempervivums on the roof
The journey home was a bit longer than the outward one, but were still home in good time. The cats were ready for supper.

Erigeron karvinskianus