Simply Heaven

For my mum's 70th she had a list of gardens which she wanted to visit. I gladly jumped at the chance to go to Giveny with her (Dad and my Aunt) in France (aka Monet's Garden) after all who could resist the lure of such iconic water lilies but also on her list was Great Dixter in East Sussex. I'd heard of it's owner, Christopher Lloyd, mainly as Mum and Dad had lots of his books, but wasn't prepared to fall in love with one place quite so much. 

You may recall last year  I went back with my photo buddy Sophie and luckily she too fell under Dixter's spell. It now seems to be an annual pilgrimage for us as we found we both wanted to go back this year. I watched a documentary a couple of months ago on BBC Four and actually found myself yearning to revisit. So enjoy a riot of colour. Luscious borders to melt your heart and some close ups of just a couple of the stars...

And finally this is a sneaky shot of the fabulous Fergus Garrett who I spotted in the gardens. He is the Head Gardner who worked with Christopher Lloyd before he sadly died in 2006 and now looks after Great Dixter which also provides training to young gardeners. We spotted him three times during our visit giving guidance to the gardners whilst saying hello to visitors. 

We're hoping to go back soon so watch this space! And if you can go visit Dixter, it's food for the mind and soul and who knows, like me, you might leave a little bit of your heart there.