Friday, November 18, 2022

Elgin Open Gardens - Auldearn and Wallovale

Auldearn is high in the Elgin hills and the road is quite long, but it is worth the journey

The gate to the gardens, where we bought entrance tickets and petted the German Shepherd
Beds of red and yellow geum at the entrance

King Proteas and a view down the valley

Lynne had no idea what this beautiful flower was and no idea how to look it up
Then she spotted the familiar geranium/pelargonium leaves behind
and, yes, it is a spiky red Stellar Hybrid Pelargonium

More King proteas

A day lily. Sadly, the pollen of these beautiful flowers is poisonous to cats and some dogs

A lovely flower meadow close to the pond

A shower of pink old roses and some blue irises

A vast profusion of pink floribunda roses

More day lilies

and Bronze bearded irises

A close up

The main house had tea and biscuits on offer. This young woman was doing plant research

A vibrant Alstromeria, also known as the Peruvian, parrot, or princess lily, as well as lily of the Incas
We saw so many beautiful variations of this prolific cut flower in the Elgin Gardens and are very envious
We too have them in our garden but, sadly, the flowers on ours are not at all attractive
and they produce seeds and corms that spread profusely

A view from the edge of the garden, looking over the Elgin valley

and, over more Alstromeria, another view of vineyards

Gorgeous

A spiky weed, beautiful in its own way

A variety of indigenous Arum lily, known as Green Goddess Zantedeschia aethiopica

Wonderfully architectural

We had phoned Nicky Wallace of Wallovale wine farm for advice
and she'd invited us to finish the day with them on the farm and to come and pick some of their abundant roses

So many choices

and, of course, we then enjoyed a glass of their wine
The 2021 Paul Wallace Reflection Chardonnay is so elegant and so enjoyable

Generous, gregarious and welcoming Paul and Nicky Wallace in the Tasting Room

Paul recently had a welcome hip replacement, which is why he is recovering on crutches
We sat on the stoop and enjoyed a delicious glass of the Paul Wallace 2021 Reflection Chardonnay
or the Little Flirt Sauvignon Blanc, named after Nicky
And we bought a couple to take home to enjoy this summer. Thank you both

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