So what do you do when trying to organise a trip out to satisfy three generations of one family with ages ranging from 70 to 2 ?

Well if its up to me, you have a scout round for gardens to visit! Happily in this instance Twitter came to my rescue, in the form of @nicelittleplace who’s gardens at Brook Farm in Berrington would be open for the NGS

The His ’n’ Hers guide to the garden, given on arrival, is a lovely idea and shows a sense of fun, which, as you go around is evident.

Sarah and Willy talk you through their garden and it becomes apparent that this is a garden where space is negotiated between the couple and plans evolve, in other words a real garden.

The glimpses of the brook (from which I assume the house gets it’s name) and surrounding fields through the garden add an extra special element.

At Brook Farm the plants chosen by Sarah and Willy really are the stars, happily you never get the sense of ‘Garden Rooms’. Instead they have used the planting to give each part of the garden a subtly different feel, which has created a quintessentially English Country Garden.

NB if you carry on through the garden to to ‘The Ride’ look out for the Gunnera. At this time of year it is surrounded by flowering grasses and quite literally stopped me in my tracks.