Auckland castle (area open to the public/visitors area)

Hello my name is Aaron and i am a “PLANTAHOLIC!”

It all started at the age of five when my family and i  lived with my grandparents in their then home “Auckland Castle”, this was a large establishment with extensive stately grounds and beautifully preened gardens.

At the back of the home was a large Victorian walled garden which was crammed to the rafters with rose bushes and perennial plants in all shapes and sizes and in an array of colours and fragrances you could die for, leading from this walled garden was a large stabled area leading on to an extensive private woodland, all this to me was sheer bliss and as a child i was totally blown away by what was on my door step and didn’t know at the time how truly lucky i really was.

Now at the age of thirty three i can still remember my fond childhood memories of that garden and how it looked back then, so now I’m lucky enough to have my own little piece of paradise i love to fill it with all those favourite plants that got my senses flowing and gave me so much pleasure, roses, lupins, pansies, clematis, and many more hundreds to choose from all with their own special place in my mini haven.

Sadly i don’t have the room or the finances for my own private woodland but i adore trees all the same and have a few dotted around at home, not huge specimens but rather more dwarf breeds that are not going to dominate my garden, simple cultivars like dwarf weeping willows and miniature flowering cherries always make an impact so find a place in my heart.

Gardening does not just stop outdoors in the garden, i love house plants too and feel totally relaxed with plants in the home, i feel they add karma to a room and bring the outdoors in, i love orchids and always have a couple placed here and there and have found they thrive in my bathroom were we have a steam room which they really do enjoy (probably more than i do!).

So that’s just a brief insight on how i became addicted to all things “plants”, i guess its not as bad as somethings people prefer these days but it keeps me happy. 

“Main entrance gates to Auckland Castle” (Gate house)