Sean, the amateur gardener with the brief for a front garden.

Sean's garden was quite impressive.

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Sean with one of the judges of the amateur gardener competition.

Sean arrived with phone stuck to his ear.

Sean met some friends.

The Artisan Gardens and The Fresh Gardens

Dr Anne likes the Artisan and Fresh Gardens better than the big Show Gardens.

Greygranite and  Dr Anne headed for the Artisan Gardens when they arrived at 0800. 

Dr Anne's favourite was the Evader's Garden by Chorley Council. She was there when the designer was awarded a silver gilt.  

A sculpture of a young pilot, seconds after parachuting into France, hides in the ruins of a war damaged church.  His eyes look up to a stained glass window where two young French people are reaching out to help him.  

A code poem engraved into a tablet.

The path is the pilot's parachute.

The designer meets the judge.

Dr Anne's second favourite was the Japanese Edo garden which won gold.  It reminded her of her recent read about the Garden of Evening Mists.

The Sculptor's Picnic Garden

The Old Forge for Motor Neurone Disease Association

Brewers Yard by Welcome to Yorkshire

Runnymede Surrey Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Garden

Future Climate Info, A Trugmaker's Garden

Breast Cancer Haven Garden

Below are Dr Anne's favourites in the Fresh Gardens Section.  

The Breakthrough Breast Garden

The plantings were superb. The stone pathway was crossed by a ribbon of soft pink planting.

The water pools rippled every 10 minutes to represent the shocking statistic of a woman being diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  

The ethereal green and white planting created a feeling of hope.

The Pure Land Foundation Garden

Wonderful white shimmering structures with superb plantings.

Harrod's Fragrance Garden

Dark Matter Garden for the National Schools' Observatory

The World Vision Garden inspired by the beauty of Cambodia. This was awesome. 

Thinking of Peace by Lace Landscapes.

Part of Beyond Our Borders

Off to Chelsea

Dr Anne and Greygranite are off to Chelsea.  They are preparing for take off at Aberdeen Airport- Captain McArthur and 1st Officer McLeman...

Spring is here

East Neuk's garden is a wonderful spring garden.

The ferns uncurl.

Bergenia.

The rhodies are in bloom.

The strawberries are in flower.

Discovery.

The last of the tulips come into bloom.

The cherries are growing.

The bluebells are coming into flower.

The first rose of the year

Spring Garden

Tulip Time

The Garden of Evening Mists

Eng, T. T. (2012). The Garden of Evening Mists. Canongate: London.

One of Dr Anne's favourite books is A Town like Alice.  Much of it was set in Malaya during the second world.  Of course, she idolised Bryan Brown a lead character. 

Dr Anne took her mother on her trip of a lifetime on the Eastern and Oriental Express.  This area of the world intrigues her.  She remembers the rubber plantations, the tea plantations, Penang, Butterworth and QL with fond memories.  As for Singapore Dr Anne's mother told her to get a job there. 

This book is set in Malaya during and after the Second World War, mostly in the Cameron Highlands.  For Dr Anne it is centred on the design of a Japanese Garden in the Cameron Highlands.  It also gives details of the Japanese horimono. Design is Dr Anne's interest in gardens as she looks forward to Chelsea.  Tattoos, well she has had no interest until recently.  

Stories aside, Dr Anne recommends the hauntingly beautiful book about a girl imprisoned in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, the only survivor, who comes to terms with life in a Japanese garden in the Cameron Highlands.

She awards 7.5/10