January – The landscape at Compton Verney
Welcome to this ‘January’ article, the first in a series of posts which aim to review, through photographs, twelve months of activity in and around the diverse landscape of Compton Verney. It’s a historic landscape that has seen much change, from the shaping of the areas as new plants establish to the visual delight gained from one of a number of artistic interactions. There’s also a huge change in atmospheres from the busiest of open days to quiet days when just bird song can be heard – either way; visually the landscape changes with the weather.
Working the ground at Compton Verney is fascinating and often a real pleasure, it sees the team out in all weathers and light conditions, and with a passion for photography it is a very rare day when I haven’t captured one image or more. Therefore, for this series of posts I have sifted through my monthly collections built during 2014, and will post some each day for the record.
I hope you enjoy ‘January – The landscape at Compton Verney’ :
Drifts of Winter Aconites cloaking the ground beneath the Lime trees on the West Lawn. Flowering from late December each year, these beauties really lift the spirits. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
A frosty and foggy day dawned and the sun hardly broke through all day. An exquisitely calm day…. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
The sun remains low in the sky, and is very welcome when its warmth bursts through into the Ice House Coppice. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
Early Snowdrops on the lakeside, such a tiny but beautiful addition to the landscape. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
January was a little on the damp side but the installation of the Moore Rodin sculptures continued nonetheless. Slippy lakeside banks, pouring rain and sodden lawns didn’t stop the team fitting all the exhibits on time. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
This image shows the firm foundations for Moore’s ‘Arch’, the soil as shown left by the landscape company. We simply hand to complete the scene with some turf and grass seed – not forgetting the arch of course, which was soon to follow! © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
Thankfully we still had time for some planting, adding to the coppice some Helleborus niger, or Christmas Rose as commonly known. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
Daffodils were well advanced in this January 2014 image, and whilst they are not quite as advanced at the moment, their shoots are already showing through giving promise for the months ahead. © Compton Verney / Gary Webb 2014
I hope you enjoyed this quick fly through a collection of January 2014 grounds images, keep an eye out over the next few days for the February post!
Regards, Gary Webb, Head of Landscape & Gardens at Compton Verney.