End of the Trail!

Lots of animals and  related activities around the gardens

The annual sculpture trail finished on Sunday with the charity day for the Cinnamon Trust (Animal R Magic). It was such a shame that the weather did not hold from the glorious day on Saturday, so everyone got a bit wet as the day progressed.  We were however surprised and delighted at just how many people came out to support the event, despite the conditions and especially the children that enjoyed the pony rides (from Julie Thomas Equestrian ) in the pouring rain!

As well as wet horses and dogs we also had Alpaccas (Simply Alpacca from Alcester) in the garden - what lovely creatures they are, they were quite the stars of the show and the products made from their wool were lovely.

The Cinnamon Trust raised £460 from the day so were very pleased and delighted with the support.

Talking of charities - the month long sculpture trail also raised £360 for West Midlands Search and Rescue with the raffle for a lovely piece of sculpture made by one of this years most popular artists Steve Blaylock.
Mark Rogers from the charity drew the winning tickets late afternoon on the 23rd September and the first prize winner came to collect her prize today - she was thrilled!

Mark drawing the raffle.

Winning the Bulrush with dragon flies.

We are now wandering around the garden watching Mick and Carolyn taking all the sculptures away and emptying the garden - it feels a bit anticlimactic at the moment but the mud in the garden is giving us plenty to do -- lots of dabbling ahead this week based on the forecast!  For those that missed the trail  - there are some photos on the website http://www.jinneyring.co.uk/acatalog/Previous-Years-Sculpture-Trails.html

Blooming success!

Gardeners Chris Evans (seen below) and Jean Hubball were so excited this week .... one of their variegated Yucca plants is shooting a bloom and will be in flower very soon now - they are excited because this is an event that happens at the most every 7 years with this plant.    We ducks have been 'warned' not to go near the plant, as it so spiky I don't think this will be a problem!

Chris Evans with the Yucca

It was a very busy weekend in the garden with lovely weather on Saturday making it a perfect setting for pre-dinner reception drinks when David and Svetlana to celebrate their marriage with their close friends and family.   After a wander around our sculpture trail with their drinks and canapés they had a lovely relaxed meal in our meeting room overlooking the ponds.  The room was decorated to suit the occasion with flowers too.  It was a lovely celebration for all - we even got fed by the guests and the horses in the field got lots of petting from the 3 children.

This year's sculpture trail is also proving a great 'success' - lots more people here viewing this weekend and huge appreciation for the artworks around the gardens.  Even the children are enjoying it with more pictures in the spider chair!

Jacob - looks quite relaxed with a spider near his head!

Fearless Freya!

The trail finishes this Sunday (23rd) with live animals joining us in the gardens for a charity day Animals R Magic!

Romantic Tale

Yesterday was a bit blowy in the gardens, particularly about lunchtime when Bride and Groom Dorothy and Jeff arrived for their intimate wedding reception.  The good news was that the drizzle cleared up for a while and they were all able to go into the garden and have their photos taken around this year's Sculpture trail.

Dorothy seen in centre with her bridesmaid.

It turns out that Jinney Ring is quite an important place to Dorothy and Jeff.  They met here on their first date, then, some time later, Jeff got down on one knee and proposed to Dorothy in the gardens here and now they have come here to celebrate their marriage with their respective families.

The wedding party decorated the meeting room next to the restaurant with their own hand made felt bunting and and pink and cream flowers - it all looked lovely.  They had a farmhouse menu including our famous Steak and Ale pie and Salmon in White Wine sauce finished with a trio of desserts, a menu you to suit their party and their own individual style.

The meeting room fits two tables all decorated

The best bit of the day was that we ducks were included in their planning, the Bride made sure that she and the children all had a bag of duck food for us - so we celebrated too!  We wish them every "quackiness" for the future and look forward to seeing them on many anniversaries to come.

Scary Spiders

There are a lot more spiders in our gardens at the moment than are normal at this time of year -- and they are big!

Steve Webb (very aptly named) is one of this years artists exhibiting in the annual scultpure trail and he obviously has a fascination with our Arachnid friends - we are not sure if it is a love or a hate relationship!

There are small spiders, medium spiders and huge spiders - some of them hanging from the trees and some working their way across the grass as seen below ...

There is also a Spider chair which the children love sitting in to have their photos taken.

Honey and Eleanor were difficult to scare!

Children are also enjoying the activity pack/competition around the trail and we have had some terrific colouring and shapes.

The Spiders represent just part of an extensive trail with over 100 pieces in the gardens.  It finishes on 23rd September.