Hello and welcome back to my blog and wishing you all a happy new year!
Well, the frost has well and truly struck across the country. The last two days the Mr and I have awoken to very cold temperatures and frost outside, albeit with some clear sunny days.
I will therefore be spending some time inside seed sowing and pottering around. The weather forecast shows that the temperatures should rise again soon, so I will venture back out to start on another project soon.
Today’s post is a photo-rich one showing you some of the highlights of our visits to RHS Rosemoor for their Christmas light show called ‘Glow’ and also the Christmas lights this year at The Eden Project. We’re starting a tradition for both of these visits each year. The Eden Project is particularly nice, because they have been putting on ice-skating each year. This year we managed to skate together! Last year, we were practicing for Bambi on ice, so skating together wasn’t an option.
I also went back to RHS Rosemoor by myself in the daytime on Boxing Day to have a walk around my favourite gardens there. They currently have on display their Winter Sculpture 2024/2025 | RHS Garden Rosemoor / RHS and I loved walking around looking at the various sculptures. I was followed by a robin all the way through the gardens. I have added on my visit to Rosemoor to see the gardens and the sculptures further down the page. Enjoy!
RHS Rosemoor – Glow Christmas lights 2024
You can watch video footage of the Glow light display on my Facebook page: RHS Rosemoor Christmas reel (Don’t forget to unmute the video in the top right of the video screen!)
You can also follow me on Facebook for bonus content: The Charming Nook | Facebook
The Eden Project – Christmas 2024
You can watch bonus video footage at my Facebook page: The Eden Project Christmas reel (Don’t forget to unmute the video in the top right of the video screen!)
You can also follow me on Facebook for bonus content: The Charming Nook | Facebook
RHS Rosemoor – Winter sculptures 2024
Bonus video footage of the robins is available on my Facebook page: Robin reel (Don’t forget to unmute the video in the top right of the video screen!)
You can also follow me on Facebook for bonus content: The Charming Nook | Facebook
The Hot Garden
‘Tanzanite Moongazing Hare’ by Paul Burton
This was my favourite sculpture of the day. I loved how the azure blue contrasted brilliantly against the backdrop of the winter planting. It is a simple piece, but it had real impact. I loved how the light shone at different angles through the tanzanite ‘moon’, it gave the piece real presence and told a story from various aspects in the garden.
The grasses and architectural planting looked fantastic in this garden, even at this time of year:
I also loved how the hare sculpture provided a key focal point as you walked through the rest of the garden:
‘ The View From Here’ by Carrieann Moore
‘Girl Dancing’ by John Hadfield
This was another sculpture that caught my eye. I thought this one also had impact and a great sense of movement. I liked where it had been placed in the garden, as it allowed you to view it from all different angles and heights.
‘Shoal’ by Owen Meridith
The Rose Gardens
A visit to Rosemoor wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the rose gardens! I enjoy walking through the gardens at this time of year; it really allows you to see the bare bones of the planting.
Rose garden 1: The Queen Mother’s Rose Garden
I pinned an idea in my mind to use japanese holly as dwarf hedging:
‘Rose bush’ by Neil Lossock
Rose garden 2: The shrub rose garden
The shrub rose garden is much more informal compared to the first rose garden. There is no dwarf hedging outlining the planting:
However, the planting is enveloped by shapely swags of roses, which become ever-apparent in the cooler months:
The Herb Garden
‘Artichoke’ by Simon Connett
‘Birds on a Branch’ by Edward Hill
The Cottage Garden
‘Seed’ by Simon Connell
The vegetables planted in all the Cottage Garden beds still looked really good at this time of year:
There were some hopeful signs of Spring:
As you walk through the Cottage Garden, you reach a wood and cob structure:
I loved all of the dried flowers and foliage hung up in the hut. I’d love to be able to recreate a similar space at home!
The dried honesty was a particular favourite:
The Foliage Garden
‘Two Long Tailed Tits on a Crook’ by Edward Hill
I then made my way back through the garden, accompanied still by the robin:
‘Wren on Vintage Tool’ by Barney Yendall
If you made it to the end of this blog post, I hoped you enjoyed looking at the sights of the gardens at this time of year. Until next time, happy gardening 🙂
The Charming Nook 
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