In olde English the word wold means an endless chain of rolling hills. This perfectly describes the countryside here in the Cotswolds of England. My favorite garden today was Upton Wold. It is tucked away behind some fields with no sign letting you know it is there. This garden had a large wildflower area with cut paths filled with camissa and milkmaids. Once again these flowers were all new to me.

As we continued on we saw many types of trilliums I had never seen. The first is a stinking johnny type but with large floppy petals. Next is a rather exotic one with yellow stamens but no actual petals. It looks like I forgot to load the double petal white one and since it is 5:30 a.m. and I am in my nighties I really can’t go sit in the hallway where the fast wifi is to load it. Sorry😉

There were areas with hedges forming tunnels, large lawns and something called a haha. A haha is a walled drop off between the edge of the garden and an animal pasture below (here mostly for sheep.) When you look out from the house you dont see the wall just an uninterrupted vista. But when you walk up to it there is this big drop off and it is like haha don’t fall over! It is very effective at keeping farm animals, deer and rabbits out of the garden.

This is only one of several beautifully done walkways. This garden is truly immense and had many unusual plants, walkways and creative windows into the garden.

And then there were the tree peonies of various colors and ages. They seem to grow to about 7 feet when mature and start out at about the size of a herbaceous peony.

The alliums are beginning to bloom and you can smell their onion smell as you approach. I have never grown any but they should grow for me and I think I will try some. I have a feeling their smell may keep away moles and voles which suddenly I have tons of.