I Found a Garden Full of Surprises

[00:00:00]I'm very excited. Today I'm at Berley House and we're going to go into the sculpture gardens.

[00:00:14]Here's the entrance.

[00:00:17]If you don't know me, I love art. Look at the entrance. So, I'm just sorry.

[00:00:23]Amazing. Um, I love art and more so I love art like that's out and about in nature. Welcome to the sculpture garden.

[00:00:33]Ah, look. This is where we are. And you go on a woodland walk.

[00:00:38]Oh, I'm so excited to show you this. The sculpture garden is somewhere I came when I lived in the city in Peterbr. I haven't always lived in the country in Andor. was like where I first like was I guess um when I first started working this was a place I'd come to for a bit of peace and quiet. And look at this sculpture.

[00:00:59]Amazing.

[00:01:02]Love it.

[00:01:04]How lovely is that?

[00:01:08]Amazing.

[00:01:10]Isn't it just just beautiful?

[00:01:14]There's something so calming and just wonderful about this. I love art out that's outside. That's a beautiful I don't know what that's about really, but sometimes looking at sculpture, it's just nice to, you know, just see it um for what it is and just have a look.

[00:01:36]Look at all this planting here.

[00:01:43]Oh my goodness.

[00:01:45]This is more my language, but I love sculpture. It's actually changed. I haven't been here for a while, to be honest.

[00:01:53]It's a while since I've been. And look.

[00:01:55]Oh, there's aliums. Oh.

[00:01:59]Oh, I love aliiums.

[00:02:02]How beautiful is this? Oh.

[00:02:07]Oh, this is just stunning. Look at this sculpture.

[00:02:12]I love art that you can just interact with and, you know, be under.

[00:02:20]What a beautiful day. Like, I'm so fortunate. It's so peaceful.

[00:02:26]Look, this little sort of maze.

[00:02:29]How beautiful.

[00:02:31]Anyway, like Burley House, the grounds um were designed by like an old designer, Capability Brown, who basically when you think of a country house in England and the rolling landscapes, that's him. And he designed the whole parkland. And there's a whole lake here. I can't wait to show you. And oh, look at these. I I can't remember what these are called, but aren't they stunning? It's glorious. I love these.

[00:03:00]How stunning.

[00:03:03]Aren't they just amazing?

[00:03:06]Oh, it's so lovely to come on a beautiful day. Oh, I love this. To be honest, part of me I was thinking, should I look up the works of art? But I think art also is a thing that it's nice just to decide for yourself what it means. I guess this is like a big acorn.

[00:03:27]I love it here. Oh, it's a pod. Oh, walk around the pod and discover how wood can be completely transformed. Lay upon layer of wooden tiles to create a cocoon-like form. It feels organic yet carefully shaped as though nature has been reimagined through patient human hands. Pod asks you to see wood differently. Is a material rooted in the landscape but capable of becoming something bold, sculptural, and full of life. Well, there you go. That's pod.

[00:03:54]How stunning.

[00:03:57]Yeah, I was just reading off the uh board there. That wasn't in my head. I love how it just feels like it's floating. How beautiful is that? Oh, it's so exciting to be here. Get to share with you. One of my favorite places.

[00:04:13]H Oh. Oh, look here. You can see the lake. Well, it's like a river onto a lake. And this was designed by Capability B. Oh, wow. This is what I love about this garden.

[00:04:26]Look, wood people on the trees. Oh, it's so magical.

[00:04:36]Amazing. Just like so beautifully thought through and done.

[00:04:44]I love that's what I love. Art that just surprises you in nature. Oh, there's another one up there.

[00:04:53]Oh.

[00:04:55]Oh, it's so lovely. I'm so glad I came today.

[00:05:01]Look at that. Oh, this lake is stunning.

[00:05:09]Look at this lake.

[00:05:12]Oh, looking over the other side.

[00:05:18]That's beautiful. Oh, it's like a wooden gateway.

[00:05:25]Seriously, I love this lake and just the rolling hills beyond.

[00:05:32]That's all capability brown design.

[00:05:37]But what a design. Oh, it's so peaceful.

[00:05:42]Oh, I love it. And there's little like boat house you can see over there.

[00:05:46]That's very cool. There you are.

[00:05:50]Oh, it's lovely.

[00:05:52]Oh, also there's some more art down here.

[00:05:57]This is what I love about this sculpture garden is just being able to see different bits and get excited.

[00:06:07]I have got a map, but in a way it's it's quite exciting just to have a look around. Oh, I love it with all the the flowers are just sort of up. Oh, look at this.

[00:06:20]Oh, I love that.

[00:06:23]Some sort of feels like a sort of lighthouse with a little house on top. It's sort of I don't know what the meaning of it is, but um it's beautiful, isn't it? Look.

[00:06:37]Huh.

[00:06:38]Oh, that's beautiful.

[00:06:42]Oh, love that ladder to that little hut at the top.

[00:06:49]It sort of says something quite amazing.

[00:06:51]I'm not sure what that's what I love about art is that it can surprise you and you can be challenged by it or give you a feeling. I just feel like it's like your little house on a preopus or something. Look at these mirrors.

[00:07:09]Like it's like a mirror spider or something. Or is it like the cosmos exploding?

[00:07:16]Who knows?

[00:07:17]Oh, let's go down here.

[00:07:20]Oh, this is such it's all coming. You know when you've been somewhere back in the day and it just comes.

[00:07:28]It's like when you come somewhere and it feels timeless because you've been here before, but it's still new to me because I can't remember exactly where everything is in the landscape.

[00:07:41]Wow.

[00:07:43]Hello. These like sort of shell things or are they like nut acorns?

[00:07:56]Oh, it's so charming and peaceful here.

[00:08:00]Really can recommend coming.

[00:08:03]I swear, I don't know if it's the older I've got, but I do appreciate planting so much more now. But maybe is it because like as you get older, there is more of appreciation. I don't know. And having your own garden, you sort of recognize other plants and appreciate plants that you've got. Oh, I love this little hidden bit.

[00:08:33]Oh, this is for the oak tree. I love that.

[00:08:38]So, you've got all the sculptures and stuff. And then the oak tree is a sculpture. Oh, I love those lines in the sky. Leper plains.

[00:08:49]Oh, isn't it beautiful here? I love how it's landscaped.

[00:08:52]Oh, let's go back through.

[00:09:02]Thank you anyway for joining me. If you love this kind of thing, I'm hoping to take you on more little adventures, but also showing you my little cottage life in the cottage garden in the country.

[00:09:14]So, give this video a like and thumbs up or like if you want to see more of this kind of thing. Please consider it's such a YouTube thing to say. Please consider subscribing. But I really love having a little chat with you as well. So if you fancy getting involved in the comments so some of you have got to know and I love that about YouTube is that ability to you know connect and oh oh this is just amazing.

[00:09:45]I forgot to be honest with you. I forgot how amazing this place was. I knew it was amazing, but it's so nice to be here on a morning. And I think they must What's lovely about this place is they've added stuff over time.

[00:10:07]Oh, this is so beautiful.

[00:10:10]How beautiful is this?

[00:10:13]Look at that.

[00:10:21]Oh, sorry. I'm loving this banana palm as well.

[00:10:26]A lot of love for that. I love banana palms. Tried to get this kind of thing in the cottage garden in the summer.

[00:10:32]They must have the but I think they mounted it up the earth up actually to protect it over winter. I wonder if they cover it here at Belly House. I don't know. But what I do know is this sculpture.

[00:10:47]How amazing is that?

[00:10:55]Just stunning.

[00:11:09]It's called transfiguration.

[00:11:13]and pause for a moment and watch how triiguration responds to the world around it. At first, it appears calm and perfectly poised. A slender sculpture shaped with clean geometric lines, but as the lightest breeze drifts through the gardens, everything begins to change. I don't remember seeing this before, but I love it. A single arm catches the air and suddenly the whole form turns, tilts, and spirals. Oh, how beautiful in a slow Ballet dance. No two moves ever quite the same. Mesmerizing.

[00:11:48]It performs a new dance for us each day.

[00:11:51]Moving in whatever the wind brings. Oh, just a moment for that. It's like a bird in flight.

[00:12:12]Oh, I do love love that.

[00:12:20]Look, you can see the shadow of it on the ground.

[00:12:33]How stunning.

[00:12:35]Just stunning.

[00:12:59]Oh a Isn't that lovely? Transfiguration is it called?

[00:13:07]Oh.

[00:13:11]Oh, wow. They got a cut flower garden here.

[00:13:18]Oh, they grow a wide range of perennials and annuals, cutting them weekly to bring the very best of seeds to the ground interiors. A burly house. Oh, look, they've got some irises. Oh, beautiful at the moment. And ooh, some aliiums there that you can see there. And here, not sure what this is growing actually, but here are some peies coming on. I'm very excited. We've got a pony this year in a cottage garden if you haven't seen.

[00:13:53]And literally, we have one flower, but I guess I think pennies need a sunny location. A But look at that.

[00:14:04]Loving that sundial as well.

[00:14:09]Oh, how beautiful is that? I'm loving the blue iris.

[00:14:24]Ah. Oh, and the yellow one. How amazing to grow your own flowers to then cut for inside the house.

[00:14:34]Oh, just amazing. Oh, I remember this.

[00:14:38]This is like a a nice house, I think. Sorry, I'm talking about Allet as if you can see it.

[00:14:49]Wow.

[00:14:53]Oh, I love places like this cuz like literally the child of me comes out.

[00:14:58]It's the Barely Ice House. Yes.

[00:15:01]So this is where ice was collected from the lake and packed into the ice house and laid with straw. Destro junction of the earth surrounded the brick chamber to excellent insulation. So the ice remained frozen for up to 2 years when required ice would have been chipped off into smaller pieces and taken to the kitchen where it would have been used for chilling food and drink. How amazing. Wow. It's like a big sort of well. Isn't that amazing? Isn't it amazing how times have moved on and like now we have like the ability to freeze stuff and you kind of take it for granted. I'm so grateful that well obviously not everyone in the world can but like most people can um yeah use a fridge or a fridge freezer.

[00:15:49]Oh, look at this.

[00:15:52]This is just stunning.

[00:15:58]like a big wheel.

[00:16:01]It's called Elo Guide BG. It uses sunlight to bring its twisting form to life. The spiraling struts are angled to catch and reflect light and shifting patterns. Stand in different spots, and you'll notice how it changes.

[00:16:21]You know what? I can't believe I haven't been back here. This is something. Oh, look. I love about uh sharing stuff with you. Like vlogging. This has literally helped me into coming out here. And not that I would never have come out myself, but it's sort of being able to share it and talk about it. It's quite exciting.

[00:16:56]Oh.

[00:17:00]Oh, look. There's my shadow.

[00:17:03]I love I love how the shadow of it is on the ground as well. But it's so nice just I love like seeing a sculpture and then like seeing the next sculpture and being like that's over there.

[00:17:20]Oh, I love kek.

[00:17:25]I think that's what you call it. Ke, isn't it?

[00:17:29]How amazing is kek? There's something quite beautiful about it.

[00:17:36]Hm.

[00:17:41]Beautiful.

[00:17:43]Just ah and that's what I love. It's so beautiful to be here right now on a beautiful day.

[00:17:51]I can't They look like Oh, it's like a sort of rabbit. It is. I think that's what it means to me. But I love art just sort of questions the space that you're in and interacts with the space. There's something so just magical about it, isn't there? Huh?

[00:18:12]Oh, there's something just about being in nature, isn't there? As well, hearing the birds. And you can just, you can't smell it, but I can smell like the flowers are amazing right now. Oo, look at that.

[00:18:29]Huh?

[00:18:43]Wow.

[00:18:45]Just wow.

[00:18:47]Oh, I love it interacting.

[00:18:50]Oh, this is lovely as well. Even like you start looking. I love when you're in somewhere like looking. That's just what a tree was. a tree stump, but you start seeing it differently. But I always like looking at things. Look, look at this red thing.

[00:19:05]How cool is that?

[00:19:07]Interacting with it in the space. It's just beautiful. I love it. I love being able I think art should be enjoyed like this. And oh wow, I'm going to this bit.

[00:19:18]I don't even realize there's something quite exciting, isn't there, about art that just challenges what you think about art. Oh my goodness. That's what I was I remember this. There's a face over here.

[00:19:36]A This is one of my places actually one of the first places I wanted to bring Ash, my husband, to cuz it meant so much to me coming here.

[00:19:47]To be honest, I'm not I understand why they charge now and it's not too much to be honest. But when I first started coming here, it was free to the house they charged and it's free to come to gardens, but I understand then there wasn't there's a thing called garden surprises which I think I'll show you in some Yeah. way cuz it's quite exciting. It's like a surprise water gardens which we'll have a little look at as well. We got to, haven't we? But I remember bringing my husband dash here cuz it's one of the places that meant so well still does mean a lot to me and it always will.

[00:20:26]But I love it. This face, sorry, this face is amazing. But I just remember bringing my husband Ash here for the first time.

[00:20:38]And it's just really nice to bring you along here as well.

[00:20:43]Oh, I love it.

[00:20:45]It's I like how it just It's one of those sculptures. It's called vertical face 2 by Rick Ker Rick Kirby. Yes. And yeah, I love how it just speaks in a way that it's so powerful, isn't it? Wow.

[00:21:09]I love how it's like all broken up. It sort of says something about the mind and being human and everything really.

[00:21:19]It's quite beautiful.

[00:21:22]H And then you see the back of the face.

[00:21:26]I love it. Something quite special about it.

[00:21:34]Powerful.

[00:21:44]H I suppose it's like it speaks to me like the fragility of being human really and humanness of being human.

[00:22:00]Oh wow. I've never realized that's like an Aca tree it's under. Well maybe it's not. No, it's not. I don't think it is.

[00:22:10]Had a moment there. That's not. I think it's a certain other tree. I only thought I was like, "Oh, it's like in our garden." But no, it's not. It's not an Aca tree. I can confirm. I was mistaken. But it's lovely just seeing this face. This face works so well cuz it's out in nature. I love it.

[00:22:31]A I love it so so much.

[00:22:35]H look. Can you see where we've been?

[00:22:37]There's like the other sculptures over there. It's lovely. It's like a treasure hunt for sculptures, you know.

[00:22:46]So beautiful. So, so beautiful.

[00:22:50]Oh, there's another sculpture around here that I remember. And then we'll go that way.

[00:22:58]It's of like a person in in the wall.

[00:23:02]It's so cool. Oh.

[00:23:05]Oh, it's so lovely being here on a beautiful morning. It was so exciting coming and no one's going to come to this. And uh yeah, such a lovely day for it. I feel so Oh, look, there's a horse there. I need to show you as well.

[00:23:30]Look at this person in the wall. How cool is that?

[00:23:36]Amazing, isn't it? I love how it's in this old wall. And it's really powerful.

[00:23:46]Is it say if it is it saying being overwhelmed or is it a peaceful like being curled up and feeling supported? I don't know. What is it saying? But I love it.

[00:24:03]Oh, look. There's a Trojan horse down this way.

[00:24:12]Oh, I love these as well. Sorry, this is like spades on wood.

[00:24:18]Something quite exciting through there.

[00:24:19]But look over here.

[00:24:24]I'm assuming it's a Trojan horse.

[00:24:28]I'm just saying. Look, there's a Trojan horse.

[00:24:36]From far away, great changes comes with forms you thought you knew.

[00:24:41]Look at close at this giant Trojan horse. Can you spot the trapoor man of sticks or tail of brushwood? Beautiful.

[00:24:52]Oh, playful, but with a warning.

[00:24:54]Sometimes gifts aren't what they seem.

[00:24:58]Look at that. How beautiful.

[00:25:03]Look, they've got all these chairs everywhere to sit on. Just be, which is amazing. I love it.

[00:25:11]I love the writings. The writings, the things here saying about stuff because sometimes like art critiquing it like has to I don't like it when it's Oh, look at just this moment. Sorry. this moment for these just wild flowers on the ground lit today in the light. This is just a beautiful place to be. I love it. Love, love, love. But yeah, I'm just saying I love I'm not always a fan of writing of art cuz I think it tries and tells you sometimes what to think.

[00:25:45]Whereas this isn't. It's just kind of speculating around the art, making you think around the art. I just I think it's always dangerous when our description is saying this is exactly what the artist felt or was thinking and that's why it's like this. So I don't always like looking at it. But it's quite nice to Oh, it feels very much a totem pole, doesn't it?

[00:26:14]Huh? I love it. Just love it. Something amazing about it. Magical.

[00:26:28]Oh, let's go this way because it's very exciting.

[00:26:32]H Oh, this is just lovely.

[00:26:51]Look at this.

[00:26:54]Oh, I love like gateways through trees.

[00:26:57]So beautifully done.

[00:27:03]It's so magical, isn't it?

[00:27:09]I'm loving it.

[00:27:16]Wow, look at this. Just a block.

[00:27:21]How cool.

[00:27:23]Love it.

[00:27:25]But oh no, it's not just a block. Feels quite Picasso actually. I know it's not Picasso, but look, look at that art form the other side. You weren't better than that, were you? I wasn't.

[00:27:38]Huh?

[00:27:40]Wow.

[00:27:42]Oh, let's go down here.

[00:27:47]Actually, let's go over here.

[00:27:57]This is powerful, isn't it?

[00:28:07]Ooh, I love that shape.

[00:28:11]Huh?

[00:28:13]Oh, and over here.

[00:28:16]How cool is this?

[00:28:24]Oh, I love it.

[00:28:44]So, you've got these sculpture gardens which are insane. I love them. How beautiful. But now I'm going to take you. There's a thing called the garden of surprises and it's basically a waterfilled garden. Not sure how much I can get to show you, but I'm going to try show you how amazing they are.

[00:29:07]So, let's go. These are the garden or surprises. Oh, I love look. Let's go.

[00:29:12]And I love how they've echoed the sculpture garden entrance in the top here to look amazing.

[00:29:22]Let's have a look around these gardens.

[00:29:27]Oh, loving this. There something about water and gardens and love. How amazing is that?

[00:29:38]Oh, look. We've even got I'm sorry.

[00:29:40]Aliums in here. I've got a new found love of aliums recently. But um well, actually I have loved them for a while.

[00:29:48]But how cool is this?

[00:29:52]Oh, amazing.

[00:29:59]Wow, look at this.

[00:30:02]I'm sorry. This is just amazing.

[00:30:12]Oh, wow.

[00:30:14]Look at that.

[00:30:20]Oh, it's so lovely coming here on a hot day.

[00:30:26]How magical.

[00:30:32]Let's look down here.

[00:30:35]Well, that's what we're doing where we just were.

[00:30:40]Oh, wow.

[00:30:45]Oh, how peaceful.

[00:30:47]Those little moments. Look. Oh, little fountains. How cute is that? Oh, I love it. H Oh my goodness. This is like a sort of a big sund dial. And look, can see all around. Oh, look.

[00:31:11]Huh? Got different sculptures. Oh, look. There's an alium.

[00:31:26]Huh. Amazing.

[00:31:31]Just wow. Oh, look. There's something going on over there. Oh, I love this.

[00:31:39]It's more I guess it's grown up since I last was here. It's amazing to see it all grown up.

[00:31:46]Oh my goodness. This is a mirror maze.

[00:31:50]Oh, how exciting. Are we going to Are we going to get through this?

[00:31:59]Oh.

[00:32:01]Oh, wow.

[00:32:04]Oh, that's a dead end.

[00:32:10]Oh, it's meant to be a technique, isn't there, to find your way around mazes. I wish. Oh, no. I'm going to get I'm going to get stuck in a mirror maze. Oh, I love mazes. There's something about them, isn't there? Oh, that's where I came in. So, not there.

[00:32:31]I think the key is to get to the center.

[00:32:37]Can we go this way?

[00:32:40]Oh, no.

[00:32:51]Oh, have I done it?

[00:32:54]Oh, no. Oh, I don't know.

[00:32:57]Oh, can I make it to the center?

[00:33:11]I assume that's the goal.

[00:33:15]Yes. Oh.

[00:33:18]Oh. Amazing.

[00:33:20]Made it. We made it to the center.

[00:33:28]Wow. I'll see you outside of the maze.

[00:33:32]Oh, that was fun. Let's go into the Jewels Moss House.

[00:33:38]Amazing. Oh, I love all the ferns here.

[00:33:41]Oh, I love ferns. We've got some cottage garden, but Oh, I love it. Oh, this is the moss house. Oo, very peaceful in there. Oh, I loving look all the planting.

[00:34:05]Wow. Look how cool is that?

[00:34:08]Just a moment to appreciate it.

[00:34:13]Oh, look. Can see up into the moss house. And look down below.

[00:34:19]Oo, it's very smoky and watery.

[00:34:27]Well, there we go. That's the moss house.

[00:34:31]Lots of moss in there on the walls.

[00:34:35]Oh, look at that. We love it. How magical is that?

[00:34:41]Wow.

[00:34:43]I love that sun. Oh, that's cool, isn't it? Just filling up all the cups.

[00:34:51]Oh, there it goes there to that cup and then to that cup to the bottom cup.

[00:35:03]Amazing. Ooh, love that. Huh.

[00:35:09]Literally look at these aliums.

[00:35:13]Wow.

[00:35:15]Oh my goodness.

[00:35:20]Oh, this is the way out of the garden surprises. Will we get wet? It's the water curtain.

[00:35:29]Oh. Oh, it's like Neptune's grotto there. Oh, look. If you look back down, I love this. So you got like a a waterway and this really reminds me somewhere I've been I've vlogged it is uh one of my favorite places is Jardan favorite paper gardens is Jardan secret in Marrakesh. Oh it's amazing.

[00:35:51]I just want to say thank you so much for joining me walking around um Bley House Gardens. They're so exciting and surprising. I love the sculpture. It takes me back to walking around in my younger days and a place to come just be and it's beautiful to be here on such a lovely day and be able to share it with you. Um yeah, join us for cottage stuff, little more little ventures like this.

[00:36:14]I'll see you again soon.