Hollyhocks
Iris like a goddess bold
Purple drapes her beauty so
That her magic men may know
From her still pool rising cold
Scarlet Salvias swoon and drift
Heavy with their maddening bloom
Silver sanctuaries of gloom
Their heads the dew-sheathed peonies lit
These drunken Pagans sing all night
All but an enchanted row
Of hollyhocks that grow and grow
By the house-wall out of sight
Not a sound or note they make,
But they're growing, growing fast
Skywards they are marching past
Pinks and foxgloves in their wake.
(WJ Turner 1889 - 1946)
At the centre of the Garden is a sun dial (a replica of the original)
How well the skilful Gardner drew
Of flow'rs and herbes this Dial new;
Where from above a milder Sun
Does through a fragrant Zodiack run;
And, as it works, th'industrious Bee
Computes its time as well as we,
How could such sweet and wholsome Hours
Be reckon'd but with herbs and flow'rs!
(From The Garden - Anrew Marvell 1621 - 1678)
I had the pleasure of spending some time in this beautiful, walled garden today. Out for a walk with a friend, we returned via Lydiard Park and, whilst the rest of the park was relatively busy being the first day of the school holidays and gloriously sunny, the walled garden at Lydiard House was a place of peace and tranquility.
