Saturday 23 August 2008

An inspiring palace

I had wanted to go to Hampton Court palace since we arrived in England and last weekend we finally got there.

It’s an amazing place, even if it is pretty much devoid of furnishings. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it definitely made us notice the detailed nature of the buildings.

The paintings and murals are obviously impressive. The sheer scale, attention to detail and time it must have taken to paint them make them so. But there are only so many similar scenes you can take in before your mind starts to wander.

These chimneys naturally made me think of brick quilts.




Being the end of summer, the gardens were a riot of colour. I’m familiar with knot garden embroideries, but it was impressive to see the real thing in full bloom.





And the detailed gates reminded me of reverse appliqué quilts depicting overflowing flower beds seen through wrought iron curlicues.


Definitely worth another visit.

4 comments:

IamSusie said...

I'm usually more of natural, wild looking gardens, but this formal garden is really lovely!

Denise Kiggan said...

My friend took me to Hampton Court when we were in London about 2 1/2 years ago. It was a wonderful experience. VERY COLD! But really special.

Anonymous said...

wow, the colours are stunning!

KP said...

The chimneys are great, I've just read Fred Dibnah's biography, he would have loved them.