During this very pleasant warm spell, which has seen a tremendous bounty of spring blossom across the country, I was delighted to find on a recent visit, some fabulous examples of Wisteria growing in verdant splendour on many fine old Georgian houses in and around Cheltenham. However I have rarely seen any competing examples here in Yorkshire. Obviously the slightly cooler climate is the main culprit, so how pleased I was when returning from the Royal Wedding celebrations at the Arabian Horse last Friday to spot the blossom framing a stone headed doorway of a house on Main Street North in Aberford; Christmas Cottage. The photograph at the head of the article is witness to this Chinese climber.
Archive for the ‘Gardens’ Category
Spring Blossom ~ Wisteria
Thursday, May 5th, 2011For Sale: Lawnflite 603
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
Downsizing means I have no use for such a large lawnmower, hence the sale of my MTD Lawnflite 603, bought new from a local dealer in 2005, the equipment is in excellent condition and comprises the motor unit with a cutting deck and fan assisted grass clippings removal. Demountable rear grass collector or external chute, to leave clippings on the ground. Tight turning circle, 30″ cut; Regularly serviced; 12.5 HP Briggs & Stratton electric start engine; 5 litre fuel tank; Front head lights; 5 level cutting deck; 5 speed shift-on-the-go transmission forward and reverse.
Rest in Peace Meg
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
After a bad couple of weeks, our dog Meg has today passed away, she was around 14 years old or 98 in dog years, she has always been a true and faithful friend to all the family, and our friends also, so her passing is a great loss. I have selected a suitable location to bury her here at Parlington, following in the long tradition that the Gascoigne family undertook with their pets, as far back as the nineteenth century at least, to my knowledge.
Barbecue Turkey and a Weber!
Saturday, December 26th, 2009
The intro photo was taken on Christmas day by my eldest daughter, Pip, she thought it worth capturing the moment! I have cooked the Christmas turkey on a Weber BBQ since the late 80′s. The BBQ in the image is the fifth I have owned, and with the ash collection system beneath the kettle, is, I can testify, the best yet! Behind and almost obscured is an earlier model, which had just completed cooking a duck to accompany the turkey.
Porcelain Figurine
Thursday, October 1st, 2009The weather was too good to miss the opportunity after work, so I continued some excavations around the location of the fountain, the centre piece of the lawn in the nineteenth century. Of course I had to find the location first, but recent geophys scans gave some insights so off I went!
Geophysical Research
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009The old hall footprint is well established as a result of the ground plan produced by George Fowler Jones architectural parctice in 1885, this is still in existence and held I believe at Temple Newsam. I obtained a digital copy of the reference photograph some years ago and have used it extensively to assist in discovering how the parts of the hall were aligned on the ground. However with the recent discovery of the photographs taken by Jones in the latter part of the nineteenth century; held at the National Media Museum, Bradford, it became clear that the lawns had extensive flower beds. Moreover the plan shows drainage lines and the position of the fountain and the river Crow which runs across the lawns in a stone culvert. We decided therefore to undertake a geophysical analysis of the ground to determine if any of the earlier features could be discovered.
“Woody” Recent visitor to Parlington
Monday, June 2nd, 2008You can often hear woodpeckers in the trees around Parlington, knocking seven bells out of a branch or bough, but you rarely see them. However, “Woody the frequent flyer to the peanut island on a pole” has become a garden favourite but less so to the more common birds queuing in the surrounding bushes awaiting their turn on the feeders.





















