clever cousins

Gardeners are proud of their gardens. They should be - hours go into designing and maintaining them throughout the year.

The most confident open their gardens for others to visit. Open gardens have become a feature of the British summer and it is always a treat

to look around someone else's patch, taking photo's, admiring - and pinching ideas.

I come from a gardening family. My grandfather was an allotment holder, dad is a keen gardener - and my two favourite cousins carry the torch on their side of the family.

Both Sue and Jenny opened their gardens to the public over the past few weeks and it was an absolute pleasure to support them.