Some garden pics at Agecroft

My friend Carolyn treated me to a tour of Agecroft Hall today.  Our tour guide was great and we totally enjoyed it.    Agecroft Hall was built in Lancashire England in the 15th century.  In England it was home to the Langley and Dauntesey family for hundred of years.  At the end of the 19th century it fell into disrepair.
It was sold at auction in 1925.    T.C. Williams Jr. purchased it.   He had it dismantled, crated  and shipped to the Windsor Farms neighborhood here in Richmond Virginia.
How fortunate we are to have such a beautiful piece of history here
Secrets from the Curators closet   has some great info on this magnificent home
You can click to enlarge

A courtyard view

Landscape Architect - Charles Gillette designed the gardens at Agecroft

 Collards planted in the garden

Beautiful old boxwoods lining walkway

Today the heat index was about 103 today and believe me ,   we felt it.

Stillhouse in background

this is the still house and there are rose petals in the bowls on the table

Beautiful garden gate

Lovely statues in the gardens

My favorite

Would have taken a bit of a rest here, but with the heat in hi 90's,    This bench was very hot.

beautiful bark on this tree in the garden

Elizabethan knot garden

Large Magnolias on the property

Too hot to be outside today

I did get some weeding done early.   I came in - got cool and had another cinnamon bun I made this morning.
Monet got me in the mood for something sweet early.  The local library had some books on sale for 50cents and I bought a few as usual they were cook books.
click to enlarge -

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For the buns I used about 3 cups self rising flour.  I put about a cup of water and milk in dish to warm to dissolve yeast in.  I added sugar to mixture also.  I never write my recipes down.  I always say I will and I know I should because I never make it the same way next time.   I did put a dash of salt in the flour with some extra sugar.  I threw a little ginger powder in there too along with the raisins. 

I never put too much flour and this doh was a little moist.  It rose and then I punched it down on a lightly floured surface and rolled with my marble rolling pin as I prefer that to the wood.  It doesn't stick like the wood. 
I mixed milk, butter and confectioners sugar kinda thick and spread on warm buns, it sunk into the soft bun and it's so good.    The yeast and self rising flour worked out really well together.

lots of cinnamon sugar and butter in between

For dinner tonight we will have cold cuts so I decided to make buns for them also.  

they are soft and have poppy seeds on top

The recipe above is what I will make tomorrow,  I cut it out of  a nice lil paper called the country register.

Its free and I found it at one of the local stores here.

I have made this before and it is goooooooooood

Well off to the - GYM

Clouds hanging over me - can be beautiful

As I was leaving home for dinner at  moms house yesterday.     I looked up and saw these beautiful clouds - had to share.

This one is especially beautiful

Do you see the cross?  I didn't see this until I unloaded the pics to my site

I feel really good about this one!

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Some bloomers so far

Here are pictures of my roses in bloom,  I have been harvesting the flowers early in the morning.  The scent is strong on the red one that I use for my jelly.  I throw the pinks in there also because just not enough of the red, so I mix them.   Has been a busy month and have not been working outside like I need too.   Hopefully next week I can.

I noticed only when I enlarged the rose that it had a tear on the bloom

I didn't enhance it as I  like the way it took in the low light in the late evening.

My tea rose that is about 15 years old

another shot of the red rose 

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I have ONE foxglove,  I hope to get more to live and bloom next year

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Snapdragon -   I didn't notice on this one the little creatures I brought in with it until I enlarged it.  I will give them an even better spraying next time before they come into the home.

You can see the little critters here on this one

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The begonia leaves are huge!

Til next time ---

Betsy