Thursday 28^th June 2018.

I woke up to another lovely morning and was out walking with Meg & Gracie at 5.40am. I just love days like this, quiet, dry, few people about, birds twittering in the trees and the sun is shining. We clocked up a pleasant four mile walk amongst the trees and shade on the Barff before returning home for breakfast around 7.00am. Chocolate Labradors are not really built for the heat and temperatures we are facing at the moment so are quite content after breakfast to find the shadiest place in the garden and snooze for the rest of the day! Not a bad life really.

After breakfast Jen & I headed over to Castle Howard for the remainder of the morning, we had a pretty good drive along the A64 arriving in the estate for just after 10.00am. They are holding their annual Flower Festival for the next four days inside the house and after the success of last year’s we returned to see what this year’s show would be like.

This year’s theme was ‘An English Country Garden’ by lead creative designer Fiona Pickles, recognised as one of the leading floral designers in the UK.

On entering the house we made our way up the Grand Staircase, the staircase had been adorned with a beautiful display of wild grasses and daisy’s along its length. There was a lovely display of Pampas type grasses in Lady Georgina’s bedroom and dressing room and some stunning floral arrangements around the Castle Howard Dressing room and Bedroom. Jean Baptise Monnoyers painting ‘Flowers in a Bronze urn’ sempt quite appropriate hung in the dressing room.

The Antique Passage always is a delight to walk along no matter what time of year and today it was adorned with some beautiful arrangements of greenery,(sorry I am not really a flower person in that I do not know the names of the plants and flowers) with lovely displays cascading out of the ceramic urns spaced between the busts and statues collected by the 4^th Earl on one of his visits to Italy in 1738-39.

From the Antique Passage way we followed the route into the Great Hall to be met with two huge colourful displays coming out of the fire places and across the floor, two very dramatic works of art. Leaving the Great Hall we headed up the stairs to the ‘High South’ and into the ‘Garden Hall’ here a huge pergola had been decorated with a variety of colourful native British plants and greenery and made quite an impact in this room, the shape and design of the pergola invited you to walk through the arches. I read a note somewhere stating that much of the foliage had come from within the Castle Howard Estate.

Several small and delicate arrangements adorned the Music room and Crimson Dining room. Walking into the Turquoise Drawing room and a huge urn with floral display to match caught your eye as soon as you walked into the room giving it a very much country garden type feel. Into the Museum room two beautiful arrangements either side of the busts caught the eye, predominantly white, many of the flowers looked quite familiar. From the Museum room we headed into the Long Gallery. I always stand in awe as I enter this part of the house, the paintings on the wall, the curtain robes around the huge windows, the chandelier, John Jackson’s picture on the easel of an elderly 5^th Earl with his son all adds to the ambience of the room. In the Octagon was a huge display suspended from the ceiling which made quite an impact, to me it looked like a huge cloud of mist or smoke just hanging in the air, I dare say to others it may look completely different.

Leaving the Long Gallery we headed down the staircase and into the Chapel. This is one of my favourite places in the house, the decoration, balustrades, stained glass, gilding, the ceilings, the craftsmanship is quite stunning. Several years ago the lighting was improved and this transformed the chapel into a beautiful place of peace and serenity. It is always nice to come into the Chapel, have a sit down in one of the pews and just admire the workmanship that surrounds you. Today there were several floral displays which enhanced that experience.

From here it was a trip into the Fitzroy restaurant for brunch before a leisurely walk back through the walled gardens to the courtyard and home.

A wonderful visit with some stunning displays in excellent surroundings, the displays matching their brief of an English Country Garden to a tee. Well done to all the organisers and florists.