Fuller's Mill Visit

 Fuller's Mill is well worth visiting, it's a real take your breath away type of garden. Just when you think you have run out of oohs and aahs, there's more to marvel over. Opening hours are restricted and you have to book a slot, if you get the second slot, as we did, we only had an hour and a half to look around which isn't enough. The thing to do is book your slot before going on holiday, to ensure you get the first one of the day.

This is what the website says about the garden: 'Fullers Mill is an enchanting and tranquil seven-acre creation on the banks of the River Lark. It combines a beautiful site of light dappled woodland with a plantsman’s collection of unusual shrubs, perennials, lilies and marginal plants. It is a garden of truly year-round interest. The garden was created by the late Bernard Tickner MBE (1924-2017). He moved to Fullers Mill in 1958 and spent over 50 years creating the garden you see today from rough scrub and woodland. In 2004 he and his wife Bess donated the garden to The Fullers Mill Trust, a registered charity, which was established to manage the garden and to ensure its future'.

The lilies were the most unexpected plants to drool over, they looked fabulous amidst more usual plants in the garden. Those above were my favourites, and here are some more:

Just when I thought I'd seen the best clump of lilies, there were more

and more

and how about these? All shown to their best advantage with space around them so they can reach their peak performance

It wasn't all about lilies, there were also these blue watery type marginals

And this lovely plant

Is this Hydrangea Annabel? It looks like it

These Bishop of Llandaff type dahlias put on a good show

The water spraying over the lake was superb

as were the streams

This Phlox is out of place among the photos of water, but it was a lovely colour.

And here's a final view of  the beds from across water.

It's a glorious garden, with so much to see, wonderful planting of some extraordinary plants, and a calmness brought about by the abundant water sources. In 2013, the garden was gifted to Perennial to ensure its long term survival, and plant sales raise money for the charity. Needless to say I bought as many plants as possible.