It's true, for the Kitchen Garden never rests and it's been producing well.  As we steadily build towards peak spring harvest, there are some sights that are only to be captured at this time of year.  Like the cauliflower leaves pegged together to keep sunlight at bay (which would otherwise discolour their snow-white heads).... 

And the neat row of coloured chard marching down the centre of the pea tunnel (when the peas are over the chard will stand out in the open for a command performance through summer).

Disciplined rows of parsnip, beetroot, carrot and turnip display diverse foliage, some revealing a colourful cheek emerging from the earth.

Early peas are coming in thick and fast, like purple podded Dutch (who's seed I've been saving each season for around 25 years), sugar snaps and my favourite shelling pea, the Telephone: it contains such sweet morsels that unfortunately, they rarely make it to the kitchen (OK, so I'm a pea-glutton!).  

Elsewhere there are neat rows of leeks, the garlic is growing on well, lettuces are plentiful, the broad beans are in flower and the companion plants are a billowing sea of flowers, just in time to attract the bees to emerging fruit tree blossom.  And though the brassicas are on their way out, branches of orange and lemon are heavily laden with fruit, and plump bulbs of fennel are sublime.  All of which contributed to delicious lunches for end of winter workshops.....

Like Anthia Koullouros's Herbal Garden Workshop. See next post!

So here is your sneak peak.  It won't be out 'til 1 October.  Open Garden on 15 & 16 October will be staged in celebration of the book's release and of course, I'll have plenty of copies here then!  For those who have already asked, I'll let you know when I can take advance orders, but I just couldn't let this somewhat auspicious moment go by without a little mention....it's not every day such an exciting package arrives in the post! 

What joy it was to return to the garden and discover these beauties lying in wait....the reward of all that work at the beginning of autumn! 

Already my head is well out of the clouds, our first events of the coming season approach, and the thrilling build-up to Open Garden has begun.  

About a garden that just about has it all......to me. Set against a charming old farmhouse of whitewashed stone with dark green painted timber shutters.  Where delightful troughs.....

and terracotta pots are filled with lavender.

And a series of terraces, each enclosed by low whitewashed walls, create a thrilling sense of compartmentalisation; the opening to each with its own traditional wooden gate.

A cascade of stone steps and a densely planted path are shaded by loquot, fig and olive trees. Along the way, there are stands of agapanthus, pockets of pelargonium-filled pots, little enclosed lawns of the softest green grass and rose covered walls. And far out over the tops of olive groves.....there's a magical glimpse of the sea.  While I could bore you silly and upload dozens of images, I'll leave you with just one more: of a quintessential kitchen garden in a Mediterranean climate (and some of the biggest tomatoes I've ever seen in my life!).

Totally smitten.  My idea of pure heaven.  With a huge thank you to dear friends for a wonderful few days of escape in their paradise.

And I've decided I couldn't resist one final image.....in closing one of their charming gates on this gallivanting chapter!

There followed a few days of real mid-winter thawing out (lovely though England was, it truly was only a few degrees warmer than our winter!), as we headed off to stay with friends on a spec in the Mediterranean sea.

Where the waters were blue and landscape rocky.....

The vegetation harsh yet aromatic and magical....

Coves and beaches, both pebbly and sandy quite dazzling with clear azure waters.

Little boats bobbed up and down in harbours, beckoning to go out and explore.....

But we were somewhat contented with olive groves and orchards, lavender and fig trees, bougainvillea, oleander and walls.....lots and lots of walls.  And at last.....my big fat book got a look-in!

After all the delights of the countryside, there was a manic (though brief) interlude of city frenzy, that incorporated a visit to the Hampton Court Flower Show.....just because it happened to be on and I'd never been before.  I missed Chelsea this year, so out of curiosity thought I'd pop my nose in for a quick squizz. You know I can't resist a flower display and there were some fabulous ones in the big tent.  Anyone for a Begonia?

Or pinks?  This Dianthus collection smelled just like the inside of a Roger & Gallet box of carnation soap - heaven!  

What about all these Alliums standing to attention....displayed with military precision.

Unlike this rather marvellous, feathery display of Eremurus, the foxtail lily....I noticed them everywhere on this visit and have often wondered if I should experiment with them. and if so, where? Hmmmm....

And of course the Pelargonium display!  You didn't think that one would escape a mention....did you?????

Wherever we were, from rooftop terraces to tiny pocket-handkerchief gardens clutching to the shoreline, there were plants galore.  Cordyline and aloe, palms and roses, profusions of fuchsia, honeysuckle and pots of lavender.

Even the rooftops don't escape some kind of vegetation....whether intentional or not!

For me, there's nothing more tantalising than a garden I can't quite get to....and Cornwall has its fair share.  There was one tucked in just below our window.  At first I thought it just a loose mass of nasturtiums entwined with wisteria alongside the road....but on closer inspection discovered a gate, and steps (that I couldn't access of course!) and that it was of a greater depth than I noticed at first glance....a path below the fluttering wisteria and dense planting on the far side, shaded by an enormous fig tree.  The whole of it, although only the size of a postage stamp, was so utterly secluded and secret, it seemed enchanting.  And on the far side, a sheer drop to sparkling waters.  These are the kind of gardens that appeal to the romantic at heart.

Of course there's more to Cornwall than gardens....full of history and boat harbours, fantastic seawalls, great mountains of colourful floats, hefty ropes and lobster pots; and whitewashed, pastel hued and flint walled houses.  With its exquisite land and seascape, clear light and invigorating air, there's little wonder at the reason artists have long been drawn there.

But to end this escapade, a sail on the water, skimming across the sea on a handsome vessel....salty and windblown, was how we ended this particular adventure in Cornwall.

One of the most enchanting aspects of Cornwall are its narrow roads that lead to some of the most romantic views of fields, coastline and sandy coves....with almost always a walk you may choose to take in order to explore more closely.  Much of the Roseland coastline is protected by the National Trust, which ensures it will never be spoiled.  

Oh that pockets of our own rural shoreline could be so protected.....

We walked to Nare Head and the lighthouse on the tip of the point; sailing boats and wispy clouds creating an ever-changing view.

Hedgerows account for a surprise at every corner; heavy with honey scent and filled with wild grasses, briar roses, wild pink foxgloves and honeysuckle, cow parsley, valerian and many more plants I can't begin to name.  Driving along the narrowest of roads, its inevitable that a fair share of 'backing-up' is required to pass oncoming vehicles which is part of the fun as one zips along, disappearing into a dip from time to time, where a heavily wooded valley floor smells damp and sunlight is densely filtered through chartreuse foliage.

Over the hills and far away....back roads and byways, avoiding the highways....

And then we set off on a garden adventure like no other.  For very many years.....I've wanted to visit Tresco Abbey Garden in the Isles of Scilly, which are not easy to reach (scattered as this archipelago is) off the southernmost tip of the Cornish coast.  It was the lure of this seemingly magical and intriguing place that was the catalyst for our sojourn in Cornwall. Rather than up-sticks, we opted to make the trip in a day, and oh what a day it was: up with the sparrows and a drive to Lands End; up, up and away, for about 15 minutes before landing at St. Mary's, followed by a wee bus journey, then a ferry which decanted us on a promontory...

from where we had a pleasant walk through enchanting wild grasses waving gently in the breeze.....

on the shores of dazzling white sands and turquoise waters.....

before entering the gates that would transport us to another world altogether....of palms and agaves, all manner of succulents and crazy, colourful, rockbound plants.  

In some respects, it felt like Sydney's Botanic Garden (or that pocket handkerchief I spent so much time in as a child, Blackburn Gardens, on the edge of the harbour).  

There were great plantings of tree ferns, succulent covered tree trunks, handsome specimens of the giant Tree Echium (so prevalent in Cornwall) as well as crumbling ruins and tales of Benedctine Monks, pirates, shipwrecks and treasure, alongside the extraordinary passion and vision of Augustus Smith, who began pursuing his dream of a garden here in 1834....it's continuum assured by each generation since to the present day.  The whole thing is quite captivating, if mildly bizarre.

I was so taken with this stand of Isoplexis canariensis, I'm determined to try and grow it once again - I just need to find the right spot....

While I doubt there's anywhere at Glenmore that's suitable for a shell grotto like the rather splendid one made by Lucy Dcrrien-Smith.  I always fall for anything made of shells and this was no exception.  

And although there were vegetable gardens and hothouses, orchards and beehives, I want to show you just a little of what we discovered on leaving the garden in order to traipse across the headland to catch the ferry from the other side....

Back out in the real world, we took a long walk, past an exquisite sandy beach and up to a rocky peak with exceptional views over the islands....

and soon found ourselves in vegetation more in keeping with the hills of bonny Scotland. What an incredible land of extraordinary contrasts, clear air, bright skies, romantic notion.

The whole day was captivating....most particularly, the landscape.  Absolute heaven.  We almost ran down the hill on the other side to be sure to catch the next ferry....the bus....the plane....before the drive....and utterly exhausted....dinner....safely back on the Roseland peninsular!  I doubt there'll ever be another garden adventure quite like this one.

Can you imagine my excitement when I picked up an article featuring some delights nearby....to find it contained an image of this perfectly exquisite maze?  How on earth I've never discovered it before is beyond my comprehension!  Oh and Larry's eyes did roll skywards....but we went in search of it nevertheless.  Set in the grounds of Glendurgan, a property owned by the National Trust, we arrived rather late in the day; were told the gates would close at 5.30 and to be sure to be on the garden side of the gate to the beach by 5pm or we'd be locked out!  And that we should probably put any idea of entering the maze out of our minds!  

Hmmmm.....so we raced along the high path, discovered the viewing platform from where I took this image (perched precariously on the fence to get the whole of it in the frame and Larry clinging onto my jeans in case I toppled over the top!).  

Are you as besotted as me? Just look at it.....it has palm trees for heavens sake!!  We almost ran down the path to the beach gate, peeked outside at a wonderful view of blue waters, green headland and strewn lobster pots then made sure we were back in the garden again before we could catch our breath.  We took the valley path, passing huge clumps of gunnera, wild pink foxgloves and ferns and found ourselves at the entrance of the maze. Would we? Should we?  Of course we couldn't help ourselves and set off like a couple of naughty children!  It's an excellent maze and we must have trodden every single path to find our way to the thatched hut in the centre, but we did it - just in the nick of time!

How gloriously vivid and luscious it was......on the side of the valley it resembled a tea plantation. Hard to believe it was laid out in 1833.  It's absolute magic.  Of course, there is a lot more to Glendurgan Garden than the maze, but we'll just have to make a return visit at a more leisurely pace another day!