We drove further north with a jaunt through Snowdonia National Park this morning and arrived at Bodnant Gardens in the later morning.

I’ll let Jason provide the more detailed explanations and stick with my review – these were stunning.

Every section revealed new delights and even through we had missed the peak of the roses (beds upon beds!) and the rhododendrons (lining full paths!), they were wonderful to see.

I was proud of myself for so thoroughly enjoying nature. Highly cultivated nature.

The weather was the most variable I’ve seen. We went through multiple cycles of rain, bright sun, sharp winds, more rain, rain AND sun, then gentle cloud cover over and over again. I lost count of the number of times I switched from umbrella to sunglasses and back again.

My favorite part, and probably my favorite thing I’ve seen yet in a garden on this trip, was this round garden filled with wild annuals:

They theme it every year and this year the colors are the colors of the suffragettes. In addition to the anniversary of the rights for women to vote, one of the residents of the house, Lady Something Such, was a member of the movement.

Plus, how pretty is this?

Yup. Bodnant Gardens. Definitely worth the trip.