Our first coach trip of 2023 was to The Saville Garden in Windsor Great Park. After rather the wet and cold weather of the previous week, we set off with a forecast of fine, warm weather and we were not disappointed. The gardens looked lovely in the Spring sunshine and although many of the plants were only appearing above the ground and the leaves on the trees were just starting to unfurl, there was a sense of peace and serenity accompanied by birdsong. There were wild areas of daffodils and fritillaries and some magnificent magnolias and early flowering rhododendrons. Wood anemones covered parts of the woodland floor and the wetter areas alongside the streams were brightened by the vivid yellows of the weird flowers of skunk cabbage. In the large temperate greenhouse, we wondered at the rare pine, Wollemia nobilis pine, only known through fossil records until 1994, when it was discovered in a temperate rainforest wilderness area in Australia. Retail therapy was to be found in the well-stocked shop and plant sales area. A most enjoyable day in a beautiful garden.
