A welcome walk

Smithers suggested we go out for a walk this afternoon, which was a very encouraging sign. It was even more encouraging that he managed to get up the hill to the top of our road without too much difficulty. It was a warm afternoon, quite muggy, and I regretted having put a cotton cardigan on over my linen dress.

I hope you’ll forgive yet another collage, but as our outings are a bit few and far between these days, it’s good to mark those occasions with more than just one photo. The blackberries and butterflies were seen on the Green, and the alleyway is in Harts Grove. 

The modern Harts Grove estate was built in the 1990s in the grounds of Harts House, which was once home to the botanist Richard Warner (1713-1775) and you may remember I’ve mentioned before that it was at Harts House that the first gardenia plant was cultivated in this country. The house was rebuilt in 1816 and is now a nursing home. The wall on the left hand side of the alleyway looks to be a relic from before the houses in Harts Grove were built, and the one on the right belongs to one of the houses on the estate.