Saturday 22 November 2008

This Year's Cyclamen


Jill and John reminded us a couple of months ago that the cyclamen at the Château du Lion in Preuilly were out, so we dutifully trotted up there to take this year's batch of photos. Oh dear, what a chore...(not).



We thought they looked particularly good this year, but you do have to be a contortionist to get a good photo, as the Château is privately owned and the garden is walled and fenced all round.



Some of the cyclamens have made a break for it, and are now living wild and free on the outside of the wall in the defensive ditch.


Susan

Last year's cyclamen.

5 comments:

wcs said...

Same deal at St.-Aignan, private grounds, pretty cyclamen.

We have some in our yard, but they bloom in spring as opposed to fall.

Simon said...

Walt,
It's annoying, isn't it? Is your chateau ever open to the public? As far as I know, ours never has been - at least for as long as we've known tha place

Simon

Anonymous said...

Maybe your chateaux are open the Journees du Patrimoine weekend? Some places that aren't often open seem to be open that weekend, briefly, partially...but we visitors will take whatever we can get.

Susan said...

At the risk of starting a domestic here, my comment about the château grounds being behind a wall was an observation, not a demand for access. Much as I love to visit historic houses and gardens, I have seen firsthand that those which are open to the public take a real pounding that they were never created to withstand, and which the entry fee goes nowhere near covering the cost of. I have no issue with enlightened private ownership, although there clearly has to be some system of wider access if public funding is used to support the conservation of the site. The journées du patrimoine (or Open House Weekend as they are known in the UK) are a great idea, and often reveal some real treats, to be treasured all the more because it is only once a year.

Susan said...

PS Walt – your cyclamen are probably Cyclamen coum, with round heart or kidney shaped leaves, these ones are Cyclamen hederafolium, with more jagged pointy heart shaped leaves reminiscent of ivy leaves.

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