In the last week or so, it has dawned on me that if there is such a thing as a garden visiting nerd, I have become one. I keep catching myself saying ‘when I visited this garden 20 years ago’ … Continue reading
Giverny – Stepping into the Picture
Hidcote – The Elusive Mr. Johnston and the Extraordinary Mrs. Lindsay.
Sometimes it is the person who created the garden that is more interesting or curious than the garden itself, and in the case of Hidcote this turns into a fascinating detective story. Who was the elusive Lawrence Johnston and what … Continue reading
Versailles 3 – Escape from Reality
I cannot help but feel a certain sympathy for the French royal family. After Louis XIV created the absolute monarchy and centralised all the power at Versailles the pressures of state resting on the shoulders of one man, the king, … Continue reading
Versailles 2 – The Slumbering Giant
It’s a strange sensation when you study the face of someone who’s fallen asleep. You sense that although they are physically with you, they are not really there. It reminds me of when I was a small child lifting my … Continue reading
Versailles 1 – The Grand Vision
How can a garden be so famous yet so little understood, be so vulgar and so magnificent at the same time, and be a symbol of overwhelming power yet so ravishingly intimate? Versailles somehow manages to be all of these … Continue reading
East Ruston Old Vicarage – A Magpie’s Nest of Treasures.
Where to begin? An old wife’s tale is that magpies’ nests are renowned for having a mismatched collection of things that have thrilled those beady little eyes, sometimes things of great value and interest, and others that are brightly coloured … Continue reading