52 Walks in 2010 - Walk 12 - A walk around the grounds of Debden House, Loughton, Essex (10th April 2010)

I spent last weekend in the company of some fellow crafters at Debden House in Loughton Essex. We spent the weekend scrapbooking, cardmaking and generally having fun being together enjoying the hobbies we share.



On Saturday some of us went for a walk around the grounds of Debden House. This was the third time I had stayed at Debden House and because of the hard winter we had this year everything in the garden seemed to be at a much later stage of growth, but hidden here and there were some splashes of colour and interesting things to see.

I assume that this old gate was once a lych gate which had fallen into disrepair.



There were a couple of these stone seats dotted around the garden including this one tucked away under a tree and in danger of being covered by plants.



These grape hyacinths were lovely although there weren't many of them. For some reason they always make me think of fairies!



Last year when I was at Debden this Monkey Puzzle tree was covered in ladybirds. This year there were none. I love the intricate pattern if the 'needles' round the branches.



I think this next flower is a celandine - a small yellow flower which some people consider a weed.



Some of the trees were in blossom although not as many as other years.

I couldn't resist photographing these pansies which were in planters near the front of the house. They were so bright that it would have been rude not to take their photo.