A day at 'Little Sparta'

We chose one of the very hottest days to visit Ian Hamilton Finlay's garden-Little Sparta.  It's a lovely drive to get there from Edinburgh and is sited in the tranquil countryside near Dunsyre.
It is a wonderful garden which we have only visited once before, and we were glad to re-visit it.
It is far from a traditional garden of flowers and borders, instead it is a garden of words and thought.  It has strong themes-  classical worlds, the second World War, boats and fishing, time, nature, the beauty of language, contrast and the transitory nature of life itself.
  Ian Hamilton Finlay passed through his life in an extraordinary way, and left us an enormous legacy in the form of this inspirational garden.  I saw it on this second visit very much as a memorial graveyard, but with happiness as a possibility.  Its given me a lot to think about.