On the 11th of February, garden designer Arabella Lennox Boyd is opening her superb Lancashire garden so that visitors can see her wonderful collection of Witchhazels in full and fragrant bloom. 
There will be a Hellebore Day on March 24th. For more details visit www.arabellalennoxboyd.com
The Paris flower market on the Ile de la Cite made me nostalgic for the days when Covent Garden Flower market still was in Covent Garden. The lovely old buildings overflowing with flowers and Christmas greenery have a similar charm to the old Floral Hall.
Posted in Places to Visit
Good in parts ?
I’ve just returned from an overnight visit to Paris. I walked past Notre Dame and took this photo of a flowerbed because the salvias caught my eye. Looking at it now, I’ve decided the juxtaposition of the cathedral, the straight line of palisade wooden fence and the curving woven hazel edging looks very odd. It may be they want to keep the area closer to the cathedral private, but could it not have been done with more sympathetic materials?
Like everywhere else, French taste has its highs and lows, especially in rural areas. I was charmed by the inviting courtyard in a Montreuil sidestreet and gobsmacked (unpleasant word but perfect in this instance) by the hideous display of fake pink Christmas trees in the town square.
Posted in Places to Visit
At this time of year you can take a return trip on Le Shuttle for the day or overnight for a mere £22 per car. On a lovely day last week we did just that and drove 40 minutes south of Calais to Montreuil. We walked round the 14th century ramparts and marvelled at how indifferent the French are to matters of health and safety. All that lay between the path and a vertiginous 100ft drop was a metre wide strip of grass – not a railing or warning in sight. Peering cautiously over the edge revealed that the area at the base of the walls is part park and (more interestingly for me) part allotments. We will go back in the spring and take a closer look.
