Lots of late summer flowering plants were at their peak on this most enjoyable visit to ‘Pembrokeshshire’s finest house & garden’.  Following a long leisurely lunch, the tour of the Castle was also really interesting, hearing it’s history from 1315 and the changes that it has seen since then.

We first visited the Jungle Garden, with it’s tropical like large leaved plants, many of which would not survive elsewhere. We then went on to the walled gardens where we saw the fern house and read about the history of the gardens. One area is now planted in prairie style and the grasses were blowing in the wind. A lovely foxglove tree, with it’s big leaves,  was a talking point. A new fern garden has been created in the woods and we made our way through these to the Ice House, one of two onsite. We continued our way through the gardens and saw the dew pond. The scientific name of the white stemmed bramble (Rubus cockburnianus) caused much merriment! It is a common feature of winter gardens.

As luck would have it, there was free entry on the day of our visit, which meant that the very nice Spanish themed café was extra busy, so our lunch stop was longer than planned. However, we were all enjoying each other’s company and we relished the food even more when it arrived.

The Castle tour took us through many of it’s fine rooms, where were heard stories of the place and it’s owners, and how the site is now run by a trust. It was fascinating and some lingered afterward to look at the areas in more detail.

One of the things I enjoy about these visits is how quickly people who have not met before are chatting amiably, discussing what they are looking at. Oftentimes people have common interests and this gives opportunities to meet again and build friendships.

Photos credit: David A & Neil