Birr - Hornbeam Cloisters

If I had to choose a favourite part of Birr, which would be an almost impossible task, this part of the garden might  just be it. For years I had a couple of enlarged photos hanging on the wall. There are old weathered statues at the ends of two of the alleys, with rambling old roses growing around them. Since it was far too late for the roses, I've opted for a photo looking in the opposite direction with a ladder at the end. This time round the cloisters weren't the usual haven of peace, as they were being trimmed for the winter. So when I went around in the morning, the gardeners were on their break and they had the radio on, and when I went back in the afternoon there was a duet of hedge-trimmers. But it's still a place that always fascinates me, even with that noise going on! It was grey in the morning, lovely and sunny in the afternoon. I'd love to see it in the winter when it's more bare and skeletal. But then, I am just assuming that hornbeam is deciduous.
p.s. - that big dragonfly was a Brown Hawker -

I have a sudden horrendous attack of hay-fever caused by I don't know what; I am itchy and scratchy, my eyes are itchy and scratchy, my throat is itchy and scratchy. I brought in the last of my Stargazer lilies, but I didn't react like this to any of the others. Off to bed, hoping that it's better tomorrow as we are expecting my sister and her husband round.