Welcome to a slice of my weekly gardening journal – an entry for the week leading up to Saturday August 22nd. This journal entry isn’t my usual written response to a week of working in the garden, as I’ve been away for a week in the wonderful North East of England staying with family.

Instead of the normal journal, I’ve endeavoured to understand the special characters of two gardens I’ve visited this past week. Not reviews as such, but short descriptions and questions: what aspects of each garden visit struck me and what flavour, if any, did each garden leave. The gardens featured are the refreshed ‘Belsay Awakes’ garden and the stunning Wallington, both in Northumberland.