In the most easterly part of Kent you will find the Powell-Cotton Museum, ( a fascinating private collection of 19th century natural history mainly from Africa and Asia ), Quex House and Gardens. The house at Quex is named after its owners in the 1500s who were the Quekes family and who prospered in the wool industry of Kent. My reason for visiting is the historic Victorian Walled Garden which is being restored. It was an unseasonally cold day in July with rain threatening so I was quite pleased to be within the shelter of the lovely red-brick walls surrounding this garden, and to find a couple of glass-houses where I could pop inside.
The first small wooden-framed glass-house was just inside the doorway to the garden and full of lovely terracotta pots and a variety of pretty pelargoniums.
Some of the plants and flowers in the garden have a very tropical look about them.
and colour was everywhere
I headed into the large glasshouse filled with cacti and succulents to get out of a squall.
and loved the different textures and shapes
Pots full of red geraniums make an attractive collection
and a final look at the garden
And if you live in Thanet then maybe you’d like to volunteer in the garden and help bring it back to its former glory. I know I would.
Earth laughs in flowers 
Another beautiful place!
This region has a lot of stunning gardens – all different to one another. Good soil there!
Wow! Another visit for my list.
I’m working my way around all the gardens in the UK! It’s a tough job 😉
Tell me when you get fed up. I’ll take over. Hit the reply button by mistake on last comment. Anyway – Great Dixter. Sure you know it.
Great Dixter already posted – http://wp.me/p3jVw4-UT – different to Sissinghurst, but very hot so I ran out of steam there. Shall have to return in springtime. I was very taken with this Kent/East Sussex region, some very pretty towns and villages around.
Huh. Dunno how I missed that except that we are still on the Continent with patchy WiFi. Piacenza tonight, Geneva tomorrow and so on. Lovely post.
Enjoy Europe – it’s pretty dreadful here today.
I didn’t need to know that.
So very lush and green!
And raining 🙂
Wow, Jude! What a beautiful post! Perfect for a grey day- the colours sing 🙂 I love the way you’ve set it out- especially the bit with the statue and the orchids. Your boxes with text are very effective. You’ve obviously been playing.
Speaking of which, are you watching the US Open? I’ve got Murray on in the background but can’t get excited about it.
Thanks Jo. Those are Tiger lilies btw not orchids, they do look very tropical don’t they? But out in the flower borders! I had to look twice and go back to take better photos. And yes, I have been playing – I quite like the polaroid affect and adding text was just the next step. I hoped it might break up the galleries a bit. I blame you of course 😉
Don’t have satellite or cable so no US Open unless it appears on terrestrial TV and that’s usually only the final. How’s our boy doing then?
Going to win this in 3 but it’s only Robin Haase 🙂
I love artichoke flower! And to eat them as well… Or not to see the flower bloom
Yes and yes – though it is a long time since I ate artichoke.
🙂 once i ate 6 Smalls at once? Nond of my Kids Wanted theirs…i strongly advice you not to do that… To much for your liver, artichoke is great if you want to detox
A propos not of this yet! My friend travels BA. We’ve only just connected. Have you booked yet?
Booked today Meg with BA from London via Singapore – seems the easiest route. Also upgraded to Premium economy which stung a little, but hey, it’s my only overseas trip in two years so I reckon I deserve some comfort! Who knows whether I’ll do such a long haul again. Son gets free tickets as he works for Etihad airline so easier for him to come over to Europe/UK. When/where will you be in Queensland? I might try and get up that way during my stay. Be nice to meet up.
Finally got around to this pleasure: another superb garden, inimitably photographed. Hollyhocks made me homesick for Warsaw.
It’s astonishing where hollyhocks grow – they need so little soil. I love seeing them against the walls of houses.
Beautiful. In another life I would like to come back as a gardener in such a place.
If I had lived nearby then I would have jumped at the opportunity to volunteer here.
It would be a wonderful garden to volunteer in and I imagine that there would be a good ‘team spirit’ amongst the volunteers in such a place. One to visit in the future!