[Pre-warning - my next blog is next Tuesday, not my usual Monday]
A couple of weekends ago, I made my first visit to Sissinghurst, the famous Kent garden created by the novelist Vita Sackville-West and now the home of Sarah Raven.
I love visits like this. Part of me is there to enjoy it as a garden - its design, its planting, its moods. And part of me is there to see how well it does for wildlife.
Now even though the garden was perhaps smaller than I expected, there was still oodles for me to take in. But perhaps the thing I liked the most was this...
It is a tunnel of coppiced Hazel Corylus avellana, which leads down to the herb garden.
I love this use of a native tree. It is still clearly a garden, because the trees are all planted in a regimented fashion and there is a ruler-straight path down the middle. But it retains much of the character of the coppice woodlands in rural Worcestershire where I grew up.
One can imagine the 'woodland' floor underneath the trees rich with flowers (and hence insects) in spring. And maybe Chiffchaffs or Willow Warblers nipping about the branches at that season.
Hazel is not bad for supporting good populations of moths too, such as members of the emerald clan. And the nuts are loved by Wood Mice (oh, and Grey Squirrels!).
It is the kind of thing where you could be really playful with a design and alternate our native Hazel with Purple Hazel Corylus maxima 'Purpurea'.
One of the Hazels in my woodland garden is due for coppicing this winter (I'll leave it until February), when of course I'll get excellent Sweet Pea poles too.
What a brilliant reminder that our countryside can still be reflected in our gardens, and be useful too. Perfect!