I have never learned from a man who agreed with me.
Robert A. Heinlein.
22 Comments CherryPie on Jul 24th 2011
Patches of light…
28 Comments CherryPie on Jul 23rd 2011
Before we move on, I share a last few pictures of the Serpent Garden.
11 Comments CherryPie on Jul 22nd 2011
Torricelli is another water feature in the Serpent Garden. The water slowly creeps up the tubes and eventually bursts out in a cascade of fountains which slowly diminish. Kids are fascinated by this one and love to explore the feature first hand 
10 Comments CherryPie on Jul 21st 2011
The garden is named the serpent garden due to the topiary that snakes it’s way through this garden feature:
A topiary serpent in holly snakes through the watery Serpent Garden, revealing a different water sculpture hidden in each of its coils.
The water sculptures have been created by William Pye, one of the world’s leading water sculptors, who brings art and science together in his work. Each one is made from mirror-polished stainless steel.
The Vortex is one of seven water features that are part of the serpent garden. I do have a really good video of this which I will share with you later, I need to work out how to convert the file format so I can upload it to YouTube
I will post some pictures of more of the water features in the next few days.
Quotes taken from the Alnwick Garden website.
12 Comments CherryPie on Jul 20th 2011
The poison garden tour is always fascinating, you get to learn different things on each visit. On this visit I learned that laurel which is a common garden plant is capable of releasing cyanide gas which can prove fatal!
The Garden features many plants grown unwittingly in back gardens, and those that grow in the British countryside, as well as many more unusual varieties. Flame-shaped beds contain belladonna, tobacco and mandrake. The Alnwick Garden has a Home Office licence to grow some very special plants; the cannabis and coca which are found behind bars in giant cages.*
18 Comments CherryPie on Jul 19th 2011
“Only dead fish swim with the stream”
……….
The first time I visited the Alnwick Garden I loved this quote and found it quite profound. It is a Buddhist quote and it reflects what the Duchess was trying to achieve with her garden. The stone with the quote can be found on the way into the Bamboo Labyrinth:
In the Labyrinth, bamboo sways and rustles noisily in the wind, obscuring The Garden’s other sights and sounds. The twisting paths run stream-like amongst the bamboo. The Labyrinth was designed by Adrian Fisher, an international maze-maker, and the bamboo is ‘Fargesia’ rufa, a new Chinese variety.*
On my recent visit I was a little shocked by the comments of visitors passing the inscription. There were so many who either didn’t understand it or thought it was stupid…
In the centre of the labyrinth there lies another message for the visitor do decipher. Highlight below to see what the message says.
Visitors you have seen it all, we thank you, now continue happily on your way.
14 Comments CherryPie on Jul 18th 2011
