Chatsworth Gardens

Chatsworth dates from the 16th century, and, of course, there were gardens then too. The great breakthrough was in the 19th century, with the landscape architect and gardener Joseph Paxton. He made his name at Chatsworth, and went on to do the Crystal Palace in London, Central Park in NYC, and some other things. The conservatory at Chatsworth was one of his greatest achievements, a football field sized glass-enclosed and heated indoor garden (at this latitude?!) that could grow all manner of sub-tropical and tropical plants. It is gone now, a victim of wars and war economies, but much of his work...the rose garden, the flower garden, the cook's garden, the pine forest, the maze, the  grotto, and most especially the incredible rock garden (acres of it! giant boulders heaped on one another in amazing shapes), remains and could take a whole day to explore just in themselves. Unfortunately, or not, our camera battery died in the midst of the gardens, and I had forgotten to bring the spare.

Grand canal and fountain from House

The Wall here is an enclosed heated wall that supports larger arboreal specimens 
not-native to the climate; a remnant of Paxton's great conservatory

At the top of the Cascade

The Cascade, down to the House

In the Gardens...

Looking toward the Maze

Beginning the Rock Garden

My definition of a cool place...Missoula, Chamonix, Nelson (South Island, 
NZ)... includes the presence, on clear, calm days, of parasails, even the 
motorized types...