I didn't need telling that a visit in late January was likely to be rather fruitless but I decided to give it a go regardless. In the event I had a mild surprise before I even reached my destination.
Travelling down the London Road towards the town I passed a line of fastigiate trees which, from a distance I took to be Lombardy poplars, but as I drove by I saw that oak-like leaves were clinging to the lower branches. I pulled over for a closer look.
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| A row of fastigiate oaks lines London Road, Northampton |
Sure enough, the trees - about ten in all - bore typical oak leaves and I believe they were specimens of Quercus robur 'Fastigiata'. I have never regarded Northampton as a very imaginative local authority but I confess I was impressed for, although I know they are occasionally employed as street trees elsewhere, it was a surprise to find them in Northampton. Its neglected roads may make it a contender for the title of pot-hole champion of Britain but they've got something right.
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The fairly typical oak foliage was, against the odds, clinging to the lower
branches. I assume the trees to be Quercus robur 'Fastigiata'
27 January, 2020
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Anyway, on to the abbey. It has, in recent years, received extensive restoration work but I had no intention of going inside whilst the sun was shining. (Incidentally Northampton once had another abbey, rather unimaginatively known as Northampton Abbey, and its remains are now buried beneath housing at Abbots Way.) Delapre Abbey as it stands incorporates some remains of a former monastery, the Abbey of St Mary de la Pre.
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Delapre Abbey.The buildings, once sadly dilapidated, have been greatly
smartened up. 27 January, 2020
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Anyway, enough of history, I was intent in looking at the walled garden to the rear of the buildings. The scene was one of desolation. I suspect the upkeep of the grounds relies to a considerable extent on voluntary labour so it is unfair to be over-critical but the area had a very uncared-for look. Not a single plant was named and the glasshouses (former orangeries?) were full of little more than rubbish.
A few Bergenias bloomed near the front entrance to the garden. Now the saxifrage family, to which the genus belongs, contains some lovely plants and I cultivate some, including Saxifraga oppositifolia, but I can find little to enthuse about regarding Bergenias. Their principal merit seems to be hardiness - they hail from Siberia.
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| The rose-pink flowers of Bergenia cordifolia are quite attractive... |
Individually the flowers are rather attractive but the foliage, which gives the plants the common name of Elephants' Ears, is to my eyes ugly in the extreme.
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… but the ugly foliage detracts from any beauty the plant holds.
Delapre Abbey, 27 January, 2020
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Outside the walled garden the ground was very wet. clumps of bedraggled snowdrops scarcely lifted the spirits and a few hellebores, Helleborus argutifolius (otherwise known as H. corsicus), hardly added colour to the scene. Added to this was the disappearance of the sun. Grey day!
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Helleborus argutifolius, sometime called the Holly-leaved Hellebore, is
hardly a colourful plant. Delapre Abbey grounds, Northampton.
27 January, 2020
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It is sad that one of the richest countries in the world cannot find the wherewithal to provide proper funding for not just these building but the surrounds. Incidentally these buildings are set in parkland containing some fine trees. A huge Tulip Tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, draws many people to it when in flower and even in the depths of winter it is arresting.
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This Tulip Tree has developed into a huge specimen and may be a couple
of centuries old. Delapre Abbey grounds. 27 January, 2020
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If I sound depressed then I have given the wrong impression and walking round this mighty tree lifted my spirits. I was not at all surprised by what I found and departed, off to pick up Chris, in a bright frame of mind.
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