We took mum on a day out to Dorothy Clive Garden. The weather was kind to us and the garden was spectacular with the Laburnum arch and Rhododendrons in full bloom. We toured the top part of the garden before lunch and the bottom part of the garden after lunch. Before we left we couldn’t resist revisiting the waterfall and the Laburnum arch.

We then then took mum on a mystery tour to Bridgemere Garden Centre before we retuned to her house where we had a cup of tea on the patio. Whilst there I spotted a gorgeous baby blackbird trying out his wings. He had a short stubby tail and struggled to balance as he flew clumsily from one perch to another. He settled in a low tree and stayed there for a while before somehow managing to fall out of the branches, landing on the floor just behind where we were sitting. He scuttled off into a corner where Father blackbird kept a watchful eye on him. I hope he didn’t hurt himself as he fell and that by now he has clumsily made his way back to his nest.

The garden’s initial creation lay in Colonel Harry Clive’s wartime decision of 1940, to provide his ailing wife – Dorothy – with a ‘series of interesting walks’ as she battled with Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately Dorothy died in 1942 but Colonel Clive continued work apace throughout the 1940s and 1950s, especially in The Quarry Garden which covers approximately 2 acres.

Walt Whitman

Victor Hugo

Søren Kierkegaard

Mechthild of Magdeburg

1 John 4:8

Saint Francis of Assisi