Red Cross Blogs

A beautiful way to spend your weekend

By Victoria Watts
August 18, 2011 at 2:07 pm

There are few things I like more than a good cup of tea and a piece of cake – add to that a beautiful backdrop and I’m in a quintessential English dream. As fundraising writer at the Red Cross, I visit events from time to time, and I’ve been hankering after a trip to one of our open gardens for a while – they have all the ingredients for a perfect Sunday. So last weekend I paid a visit to Brook House in Wiltshire, where a sculptor and his wife had opened their garden in aid of the Red Cross.

Even the trip there was beautiful, through winding country roads and picturesque villages. The garden itself was tremendously splendid. We had free access to the grounds surrounding an impressive mansion with all the individual touches you’d expect of an artist’s home. Wow was a common reaction. There’s something deliciously enticing about seeing how other people live – think of a live version of ‘Who would live in a house like this?’ or, if you’re younger, ‘Cribs’.

There was a humongous pond with a rowing boat and pretty bridges, a woodland walk, an orchard, sculptures and endless exquisite flowers. My highlights were seeing what a globe artichoke looks like as a flower; a sea of yellow leaves on the woodland floor; a tiny little log cabin that brought to mind Hansel and Gretel – and of course the essential refreshments. Having meandered through the garden, the trip was rounded off with a tea, a squash and a delicious piece of homemade coffee cake.

Have a look at some of my photos in the slideshow below – and, if you feel inspired to visit an open garden yourself,  look on the website for one near you. I’d recommend it to anyone.

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Tags: fundraising, fundraising events, open gardens

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 18th, 2011 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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