Clyne Gardens form part of Swansea’s impressive collection of municipal parks and gardens. They are a mere 10-minute drive from where we live and we are frequent visitors. We always make a point of going there in May, as this is when the rhododendrons come into flower and the Gardens become a veritable riot of colour.
Below are a couple of close-ups of some particularly attractive flowers.
All the photos in this piece are from a single visit in early May of this year. On the previous day a force 10 storm (with winds of 120km/h) had blown through and I thought we might not see very much bloom on the trees and bushes. However, this turned out not to be a problem.
The photos as such do not need much commentary, but you may be interested in the history of the Gardens. They were originally part of the grounds of ‘Clyne Castle’, a large mansion (which has now been converted into a set of luxury apartments). The mansion belonged to the affluent Vivian family, several prominent members of which had a keen interest in horticulture in general and exotic plants in particular.
Rhododendrons were planted in the grounds from the late 1800s onwards, but it was not until the 1920s that they became a focal point of interest here. The then owner, Admiral Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian, was a founding member of the Rhododendron Society and had close connections with plant hunters who brought him seeds from all over Asia. After the admiral died in 1952, the Borough Council acquired the property and opened Clyne Gardens to the public. Further details of the Gardens’ history can be found here:
https://botanicsswansea.co.uk/…ory-of-clyne-gardens
Colour is provided in the Gardens not only by rhododendron flowers, as this pieris illustrates:
There are also quite a few nice specimens of camellias here, but most have finished flowering by May. Below is a shot of one the late-blooming varieties.
The stars of the show at this time of year, however, are undoubtedly the rhododendrons.
The admiral built a special watch tower to enable him to get a good view over the central section of his collection.
It is indeed a good vantage point for viewing some parts of the planting …
… however, when you turn round you can see that the objects of the admiral’s passion have outgrown his tower.
The rhododendrons look good from ground level in any case.
As always, what the photos cannot convey are the lovely smells. Not all rhododendrons are noticeably fragrant, but this yellow variety (R. luteum) emits a particularly strong and pleasant perfume.
The Gardens have a number of water features, such as this little pond. April has been quite an unusually dry month in the area – hence the low water level.
There is no admission fee and (street) parking in the area is not normally a problem.
Mid-May Update:Obviously, not all the rhododendrons here flower at exactly the same time. A repeat visit, therefore, will reveal new colours and vistas. We went back a fortnight after the first visit (exactly, as it happened) and below are a few photos from that second tour of the Gardens.