Oasis

Under a dour sky,
An oasis of colour,
Within grey stone walls.

We went to Lindisfarne (now known as Holy Island) today. The skies were resolutely grey all day and the grey castle looked quite forbidding (and closed by the time we got there!).

Thank goodness for Gertrude Jekyll. She designed this wonderful garden in an enclosure of grey stone walls, some distance from the castle but designed so it could be seen from it. Once inside the gate it's a refuge of ordered disorder and wonderful swathes of colour, plants and vegetables mixed. Absolutely glorious.

Jekyll was brought up to Lindisfarne by Lutyens who was redoing the castle to turn it into a country residence for a client. According the the blur Gertrude rode up on the train with 2 bags of bullseyes*, Edward Lutyens and a raven. Lutyens then proceeded to spend most of their visit making a cage for the raven .....

(* boiled sweets)

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