Walmer Castle in Winter

Finally I have managed to get a blog together, since my last post I have had the horrible flu that has been doing the rounds, but one Sunday in February the sun shone and I needed to get out and get some air and excercise, so I arranged to meet a couple of friends up at Walmer Castle, which has been open most weekends during the Winter.

 

The sun shining through the trees on the woodland walk.

It is always lovely walking through the wooded part of the garden

Underneath this beautiful old tree was a patch of lilac....

....it was a beautiful display of cyclamen :)

I had thought of doing a series on the Castle and its grounds during the seasons, and, as this is the first year the castle has been open in the Winter time, it seems a good season to start with. It is nice to be able to have a walk round at this time of year, it was still cold but the signs of Spring were already starting to show.

The Queen Mother's Garden, looking a little bare at this time of year.

The orchard and part of the Kitchen Garden

Looking up the Broadwalk towards the oval lawn and the woodland area.

Are these pots for forcing rhubarb?

Inside the greenhouses there were still plants in bloom, including the Bird of Paradise flower above,

I am not sure what this is, but it was lovely to see in February :)

The scent of this  Jasmine filled the greenhouse, it was lovely :)

Hyacinths.

The full beauty of the Cloud Hedge can be seen clearly at this time of year :)

As can be seen in the photo below, there was still frost in the shaded parts of the gardens.

Walmer Castle in Spring, Summer and Autumn will be along sometime during the year, but in a months time I will be flying off to see my daughter in Beijing :) There will of course be rather a lot of photos of the holiday, I am so looking forward to going again :)