Lal Lal Estate

This morning I stumbled across the information that the gardens of Lal Lal Estate are open this weekend as part of Garden Designfest.

I drive past this gate regularly, but I've never had the opportunity to drive through it before:

Once inside, we spent 2 hours wandering around the garden, talking to the designer, talking to the gardener, and taking photos. Lots of photos. But I will try to restrain myself here!

The approach to the house:

Deep garden beds surround the lawn area:

That lawn is so huge that it has a redwood as the central specimen tree, flanked by a pair of weeping elms the size of houses:

This enormous oak was planted in 1911, when the house was built:

 This yellow azalea not only looks amazing, it has a beautiful perfume:

Fallen petals under a giant rhododendron:

This side of the house looks out over a huge dam, which is the source of the water that keeps the garden looking so lush:

I am so glad I found out about this open garden this morning, and not next week some time when it was too late.