Visit to Cross Estate Gardens

Last week I was invited by a coworker to go and visit local hide-away garden - Cross Estate Garden. It was a perfect warm but not too hot day, so we spent our lunch hour walking around flowering beds, under shade of very large old trees and trying to snap pictures of butterflies and bees. Some flowers were unassuming at first, but had really strong fragrance and others were more showy. There were some metal and wooden structures either supporting plants or adding another dimension to the garden.  It's definitely was a good hour.

And at the very entrance, there was a HUGE plant (not a tree) with leaves that you can use as umbrella when it rains. I have no idea what it was but it was awesome! I took a picture of my friend Megan next to it so you can see how big it really is.

If anyone knows what this plant is please let me know!