Sofias Country Gardens

Each year Amsterdam hosts a wonderful festival for garden lovers, when during the third weekend of June the city opens up some 30 city center gardens for visitors. Last year I had the opportunity to visit, and it was beautiful! Some of these gardens belong to museums, but many of them are private and therefore unavailable to the public during the rest of the year. This year the event will take place on 14-16.06.2019, and I warmly recommend it to any garden lover! Tickets to t

One of the great pleasures in life is travelling in springtime. Travelling is mostly wonderful, but I find that travelling in spring is even more pleasurable than at other times of the year. Perhaps it is the joy of basking in sunshine after a long, dark and cold winter, or perhaps that people everywhere seem to be in a better mood than some months ago. Either way, it makes me feel blessed to be alive. This week I spent a few days in Paris with my oldest son who is studying t

This winter I travelled to Mexico and visited the Hacienda stouta de Peon, a historic sisal plantation and museum. Sisal (Agave sisalana) is the plant material most widely used in rope production a few hundred years ago, when seafaring was at its zenit as the need to transport goods across the globe grew due to world wide industrialisation. Sisal is a strong material that has a unique capacity to withstand wet conditions and saltwater degradation, making it the material of ch

When I asked at the hotel I was staying for directions to Bologna botanical garden, the concierge looked at me with a firm look of disapproval. "It is not one of Bolognas beautiful gardens," he said, "you would do much better going to Giardini Margherita!" As I collect botanical gardens, I wasn't persuaded and once I got there, I was happy I made the effort. It is a sweet little university garden, that focuses on teaching while also including little bit of wildlife conservati

Cawdor Castle dates from the late 14th century, when it was built as a private fortress by Thanes of Cawdor. It lies in the pictures parish of Cawdor in Narinshire, Scotland. The castle itself is a category A listed building, and the gardens are listed in the national listing of significant gardens Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. The gardens are well known, and extensive. Closest to the house is the flower garden, which was laid out around 1710 by Th

While travelling through the Sacred Valley in Peru, we spent a delightful day visiting Maria and Josef del Pilars wonderful corn farm Sarapampa, at Casa Hacienda del Maiz. The farm was established three generations ago by Josefs grandfather, and is still today a thriving family enterprise consisting of some 40 hectares of cornfields and land, as well as a wonderful farm to table experience for travellers. It is situated some 20 km from the village of Pisaq, with easy access a