One of my favourite places is in my hometown. Somewhere I love to visit whenever I can, just to recharge my batteries.

It is called a Physic Garden, a garden left over from long ago and not a garden in the sense we use, but one full of medicinal and therapeutic plants and flowers.

It is quite large and walled on all sides with intersecting pathways and benches at regular intervals.  These benches are always occupied whenever I visit, and it would seem I am not the only one who loves the place. From pensioners and housewives to young people, spending a few moments of their lunchbreak in tranquil surroundings. It is obviously a very old garden, as some of the walls are currently shored up with wood to stop them falling, which is a shame, but would cost a small fortune to put right.

The last time I was there, I spotted some mistletoe growing quite low down on one of the oldest apple trees I have ever seen. Most of the plants and trees are ancient too, with some varieties I have never seen before, and all are helpfully labelled for your information. I had never appreciated before just how old a tree or plant could be and still go on producing leaves, fruit, and flowers.

It is an oasis of calm, in the middle of a busy town, and has saved my sanity on more than one occasion. I always manage to find something I have not noticed before, or sometimes just to sit and absorb the peace is enough.

The place is always full of birds and insects, and if you sit quietly on one of those benches, it is like being in another world, in another time. One I usually prefer to the one outside its walls, that’s for sure.

I always hate to leave and wish it were my garden, to be able to walk around it at any time of the day or night would be wonderful, especially these days…