Get lost in an English country garden
The earliest English gardens that we know of were planted by the Roman conquerors of Britain in the 1st century AD.
It was not until the Middle Ages that gardens once more became important in British life.
As castles gave way to fortified manor houses in the later medieval period, the garden became a simple green space surrounded by hedges or fences.
Games such as bowls or tennis took place on the lawn.
Gardening has always been a matter of personal taste, and often the outstanding works of previous generations are torn down to make way for the style of the next.
For that reason it is hard to find unaltered examples of historical gardens in England.
Yet, throughout Britain there are gardens great and small, formal and informal, private and public, that illustrate the British passion for creating green, growing spaces of their own.
All are different, and all, like their owners and creators, have a distinct personality.
So, whether or not you’re a gardening pro or kill everything you touch, be sure to stop and smell the English roses while you’re there.
