Gravetye Manor

I had a special day today - this morning I went to Gravetye Manor Hotel in Sussex, where I attended a flower arranging workshop. I have never arranged flowers before but the florist from the hotel showed us what to do and we had great fun trying to recreate the exquisite arrangement she made. She also gave us some useful tips, such as when you buy roses you should put the stems into boiling water for about 1 minute to release the air locks, before putting them in a vase of tepid water. You can see my creation in the first extra, I was pleased to bring it home.

This session was followed by lunch in their private dining room - we had an amazing meal, a gastronomic delight of flavours which was artistically presented. The main restaurant has large glass doors which overlook their beautiful garden. 

Gravetye Manor was built in 1598 by a local Sussex man for his bride. It has had various owners through the centuries since then, the most notable being William Robinson who was a very keen and excellent gardener. The estate is 100 acres and he developed the land and gardens. The current owners have tried to restore the gardens to their former beauty, and they are a delight. The tulips were stunning, I think they were better than those I saw at the tulip festival at Standen House last week. It was a riot of colour today, so lovely to see the gardens at this time of year.

After lunch we had a tour of the garden with one of their gardeners, and we were very impressed. they have a large kitchen garden too, with so much fruit, vegetables and flowers, all used in the hotel.

I am now home and Luke has just arrived - he has just finished a week of two major oral exams and two essays, and has a long break before his final two exams so he decided to come home for a few days to have a break. I won't have time to look at journals as I want to spend some time with Luke.

Tomorrow we are off to see a breeder!