On a Wednesday morning, I woke up with an incredible sadness. This happens very rarely, but often enough that I know there’s only one way to deal with it: I have to cancel my plans for the day and spend some time in nature. Since walking through the hills is too hard on my body most days, that wasn’t an option. But luckily, I have a choice of castle gardens where the grounds are mostly flat(ish). So I got in my car and after a scenic drive over single-track roads, I arrived at Castle Fraser.

Something else that helps me through a day like this, is looking for things that catch my eye: blue forget-me-not growing in an unlikely place, bright pink foxglove in a dark spot of the garden, patterns in the bark of an old beech tree, bird of paradise in a greenhouse reminding me of our time in India, strawberries not quite ready for Summer, irises at the end of their season. It never ceases to amaze me how much beauty can be found in nature.