Wallington is one of two National Trust properties which are practically on our doorstep. The other is Cragside, which I’m sure I’ll post about at a later date, but today we decided to visit the former.
Our first surprise was the weather, which was supposed to be grey and overcast, but which was warm and sunny instead. The second was how much the gardens had changed since our last visit around a month ago.
There were some beautiful crocuses on that occasion, but also a lot of bare earth. This time, it was an absolute riot of colour, provided mainly by some of the loveliest tulips I have ever seen.
I adore the rich, warm tones of the reds and oranges, although the paler pinks have their own subtle beauty too.
Beyond the obvious show put on by the tulips, there was so much else to see and admire in the gardens, from the slow unfurling of fern fronds against a backdrop of mellow old brick, through a carpet of wood anemones, to the startling white of blossom against the bluest of spring skies.
My final surprise of the day was a slice of tipsy cake, which I had never tried before. It turned out that it tastes like bakewell tart, with a hit of brandy, i.e. very good indeed. Please bear in mind that the cake is in the foreground, and the house is far away.
OK, I’ll come clean. It was a massive piece of cake.
‘Surprise’ is the theme for the Weekly Photo Challenge, which I’m just about slipping in under the wire this week. There are lots more surprising posts at The Daily Post blog.
Flowers look gorgeous (and so does the cake!)
Both were delightful!
Haha on cake-perspective 🙂