Last weekend it was about trying to get over being away for five days: the culture shock of processing the stories we heard; the lack of sleep; the two 6 hour flights in five days; the lack of fresh air as we were mostly inside etc etc. The weather was not really on our side but Mr B and I were determined to get out with our cameras. Our new way of doing something together for a couple of hours. And I wanted to join in with Annie’s #HDYGG linky as it is one I love (and there had been a distinct lack of green or gardens in the Jordanian desert this week).
Jane Austen’s house is half an hour from us, in fact Hampshire is known as “Jane Austen County”. Jane spent the last eight years of her life living in the house with her mother, sister and a family friend. She actually died just down the road in Winchester but the village of Cawston is very much associated with her life. Her mother and sister continued to live in the house after Jane’s death and today it’s a museum. I will do a post on the house next week, but today I wanted to share some photos from the garden.
Let’s face it, gardens don’t look at their best at this time of year but you can imagine how they will look in a few months. Or in this case, how they looked 200 years ago. Maybe as Jane sat on the bench and mused over the story line of her next novel.
The plants below were all for sale, including the Christmas Tree (yours for a tenner though I am not sure it was actual Jane Austen’s)
Of course I couldn’t resist the “No Entry” instruction and had to poke my nose through.
I wonder how many other roses are named after Jane, her novels or characters
These beds looked a little sad right now but I am sure in a few months they will be bursting with colour
As will this be a riot of snowdrops, they are almost there now
And finally I loved this well. Hard to think that water would have been drawn from the well on a regular basis and carried into the house, as many of the people I met last week in the refugee camps are still doing.
Is it “Please keep out of the well?”
Glad you did!
Nice looking place – are you thinking of bidding for it?
I’ve lived in Hampshire for a big part of my life and never visited Jane Austin’s House – naughty me. I can imagine how good the gardens look in the Summer, they look pretty good at the moment; mine looks like a quagmire in comparison!
Next time we’re in Hampshire I’m going to insist we stop off here. I often forget that she died rather young – only 41 years old – so she was still a young woman with such talent when she was living here.
How interesting. I have always wanted to visit Jane Austen’s house and this is the year I really want to make it happen! I can imagine the garden will be terribly pretty later in the year.
Eee look at all those snow drops. How lovely. I can really imagine what this garden may look like in the summer.
Gorgeous place Tarnyarr!
That arched hedge reminds me of something…
NYMPHING!
Now I need to go there, I’ve never been!
Thanks for joining in again pixie pants x
While gardens may not look pretty at this time of year, they do reveal the structure which makes them great. #hdygg
I rather like a winter garden, laid bare with everything easy to see … and all that promise of growth and warmth to come.
what a lovely garden. nice and flat. unlike our steep hill of a garden…