I have precisely one story of being in the Norfolk region of England.  But it is an appropriate one, as I understand the area is quite popular with ‘twitchers’ (that is Bird-watchers for us Americans).

On a weekend getaway (back in our pre-kid London days), while driving around exploring, my husband and I pulled up to a very quiet 4-way stop on a narrow country road.  There was a dusting of snow and sitting on the road sign in front of us was Hedwig.   Seriously, if it wasn’t Hedwig it was her even bigger and even more beautiful older brother (the Harry Potter People clearly had let them have the day off that day) and calmly she looked at us and then she almost silently kicked her (huge) wings out and glided slightly into the woods effortlessly dodging the trees.   She was magical.

So when Adam said I could publish some of his awesome pictures from his recent tour of gardens, (excitedly) I was immediately drawn to these images of the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve in Norfolk.   Piet Oudolf designed the planting (can you tell?  it is signature Oudolf style) and while I am constantly trying to identify every plant in every image….I also can clearly imagine this scene in the winter…with a touch of frost and how that bird (and her friends) must enjoy this landscape….and how beautiful they must look within it.

Adam has many (many!) more great images of the garden on his flickr page.

images by Adam Woodruff