Sorry, we are a bit behind on our postings... life came in the way. We collected our next badge at the marvelous
Dyck castle.
(D) Dyck Castle. Landscaper's Paradise!
Founded it the 11th century the property stayed in the family Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck for 900 years until it was turned into a foundation in 1999.
The castle is located in the low lands, hence naturally moats were the the means of protection against invasion and conquest.
We admit, this is the most beautiful piece of historic architecture we have seen so far, and thanks to its foundation it is well maintained.
The other beauty of the place are the tamed nature that surrounds the castle. One of the family's (female) ancestors was a passionate gardener. She imported a lot of foreign plant life, that thrived in this mild micro climate, and composed and designed the gardens.
Naturally waterfowl has settled in, and enjoys the gardens as well.
The gardens smelled beautiful, but surely require a lot of work.
Again, thinking of Martha. She would probably move in immediately, and never look back.
... to be continued ...
Sonja:
ReplyDeleteIf only Martha could find a castle somewhere in WI which needed a Gardener/Landscaper. She would be set for life
I keep staring at that moat and wonder if I were wearing a suit of armour, how I would go about crossing that moat . . . Is there a draw bridge somewhere ?
sometimes you don't appreciate what you have until you leave and come back. You think that you want to leave all this old stuff behind and get new stuff. Then you realize that over here, we only have new stuff and it gets boring. I wished we had old stuff here but we have to go there to see it
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Bob, indeed in the past there where draw bridges. Obviously they were not easy to maintain and weren't restored. Today a normal bridge built in stones are common to most of the moated castles.
DeleteI think for some of the 'old stuff' you have to be in a matured state of mind yourself. We had visited most of the castles and old town while in school but we were terribly bored back then. Meanwhile we learned to appreciate the history and culture that goes with it.
Bob- I'm not sure I want one of those "for life" gardening jobs. A body can only do so much...The more gardens and weeds I see, the more I advocate bigger plants and less little stuff. Keep it simple and manageable!
ReplyDeleteSonja- What an interesting color to that castle. What is the stone?
Martha, that from a gardener... keep it simple? I find all gardens require so much maintenance except when you plant grass, and even this needs grooming ;-)
DeleteIt is built in bricks and stones and painted in a mediterranean color. That's all I could find out.