My Little Bit Of Britain In Bloom

Summer is finally in full swing and the countryside and flowers are looking wonderful, I live in the country and am really quite proud of my own little bit of English country garden.

The house is a small cottage set on its own in a country lane, surrounded by fields and opposite woodland, horses trot up and down the lane and its a bit like a chocolate box cottage! It has a large country garden, and when I say country what I mean is its not manicured, with every blade of grass a uniform size, and there are loads of weeds that grow far quicker than the plants seem to do !

There are gorgeous pink Hydrangeas, a huge Lobellia that is home to lots of Red Admiral butterflies and tress that’s shade the garden beautifully. The dog loves it as he can chase birds and squirrels to his hearts content, and, talking of birds, they love it too as they very well fed and watered. We have a lovely Woodpecker , well two of them actually, a Nuthatch, Goldfinches , Blackbirds, Tree Creepers and ever type of Blue Tit , Great Tit, Marsh Tit and Finch that you could possibly think of ! We have Moles too, and squirrels who are really quite cute even though they try to eat all the birds food!

I don`t consider myself to be a gardener, but I do enjoy pottering about making it look nice – well as nice as it can be as it is quite wild and woody! Maybe Alan Titchmarsh might be able to give me a few tips!

Talking of Alan Titchmarsh,  Cruise.co.uk is having her 30th Anniversary cruise  on Fred Olsen`s Braemar on 20th November and it is a Garden Themed Cruise. Departing from Southampton on 20th November it is a  3 night mini cruise to Rouen. It will be a gardeners dreams as Alan Titchmarsh will be on board along with other garden experts Matthew Biggs, David Hurrion, Tony Russell and Ashley Stephenson.

Our Chairman, Andrew Gardner ( very apt name ! ) will be hosting all kinds of events on board and there will also be the opportunity to visit Rouen and Paris during the trip.Rouen is the historic capital of Normandy situated on the River Seine, and is also the place where Joan of Arc was executed.

Just outside the center of Rouen, are the Botanical Gardens, a 25-acre park celebrating all four seasons, with camellias and rhododendrons in spring , roses in summertime, . wonderful foliage colors and gold chrysanthemums in autumn and, in winter, tropical hothouses filled with exotic plants and flowers.

It will be a really lovely autumn cruise combining ocean and river cruising, there are still a few cabins left, and the chance to meet some gardening experts too.