Bodnant Garden, Wales

---

Mark found the bus timetable between Llandudno and Bodnant Garden from the Internet. We thus visited there on Monday, 21 April. There were a lot of shops and some galleries around the entrance area. Having entered the garden, myriads of flowers, e.g. rhodondendrons, magnolias, cherry blossoms, camellias, azaleas, and daffodils were smiling for us. It was just perfect time for us to view those spring flowering shrubs and plants, which were about to bloom fully. We explored the formal gardens around the house, consisting of 5 terraced gardens, ponds, Italian sculptures, pergolas, and the Round Garden with fountain and herbs in the morning. We also walked down to the riverside and the Old Mill. We saw many charming sights, e.g. water streams, red, pink, purple, and orange coloured azaleas and rhodondendrons, tree ferns, and lofty trees in the Woodland.

We had our lunch at the restaurant by the entrance for the site of Bodnant Garden. Like typical National Trust restaurants, the restaurant serves local Welsh food using vegetables and dairy products produced locally. We chose "Welsh rarebit cheese on toast with garnish" for our lunch.

Dozens of daffodils were planted on the shrub borders overlooking the valley. One quartes of them which I believed late flowering daffodils were fully blooming, and it made cream and white carpets here and there. Vibrant rhodondendrons and azaleas were standing out among the trees in the woodlands. We also noticed a number of pink and yellow water plants blooming along the river. It was very pleasant to walk in a very peaceful and tranquil environment. We could only hear birds' singing, river flowing and sense of wild animals moving among bushes which we were in the Dell. Looking at daffodils' carpets and waterfalls with lichen and moss covered stones and steps, we wholeheartedly believed that Bodnant Garden is a typical Welsh garden.

We bought several items at the souvenir shop, and had an afternoon tea at the restaurant. On the way back to Llandudno, we saw an abundance of pots and plants that had been looked after by the nursery staff. We believed that the borders would be extremely colourful and wonderful if they were planted there from the mid May, together with Laburnum Arch, which is due to come out at the end of May.

---