A very mixed week........but we did manage a day out to Ham House, on the banks of the River Thames in Surrey, a seventeenth Century house home to Charles 1 childhood whipping Boy. So named because if the king when a boy merited whipping because of his bad behaviour, his 'boy' took the punishment as one could not punish royalty! The king rewarded him in adult life with the gift of the house. He was a Scot and changed the law of succession for the house from English to Scottish Law so that his daughter could inherit - he had no sons.
She 'persuaded' Oliver Cromwell not to raise it to the ground during his reign and since the late 17th century much of the house remains unchanged. The Gardens are being restored to their 17th century design and using plants and varieties known to have existed at that time.
Here are my views of the house and garden
First the kitchen garden....
All produce is used in the café or in the house
Then the Parterre - the private garden of the lady of the house. It was designed to be an all year round open space and as well as a place to wander in to be viewed from it's raised terraces......
.....And from the lady's private rooms