If it’s February…

there might just be a nice deal to be done on an overnight stay with dinner at The Newt? I’d kept my eye open on the socials , watching for the moment when I might catch that bargain. Sure enough, up it popped and a few clicks later we’d booked ourselves into a nice loft room, got a table for dinner and then one at the Garden Cafe for lunch before leaving for home the following day.

Those who know us will understand what creatures of habit we are, recognising that “whenever we’re in Bruton, we call in at Hauser and Wirth”, which is exactly what we did. February isn’t the best time to be here, however, for the Oudolf Field is a little bleak in Winter and the galleries are frequently closed too. This year, however, there was an exhibition and it was the turn of the restaurant to be closed for renovation. The place was very quiet indeed, then, when we walked from the car park to the gallery.

One of the principles here is that there’s seldom much information alongside works of art. There are volunteers in each gallery, willing and eager to chat about the works on show which is fine when one has time and feels motivated to have a conversation! Neither of us was feeling very chatty on this occasion, so we wandered through the galleries, not really engaging with any of the art works. Were we not in the mood to be challenged? Perhaps just unreceptive to the work of a group of artists “testing the boundaries of their mediums to address and confront notions of identity, consciousness, humanity and representation”? For whatever reason, we didn’t linger here, but made our way to The Newt, just down the road.

On such a fine afternoon, we were eager to get out and enjoy the fresh air, so wasted no time in going into the gardens to see what’s what.

It’s lovely being here when it’s quiet. We pottered around some of our favourite places, simply appreciating the immaculate estate, noticing the care with which every detail had been created.

Whilst here last year, we’d chatted to one of the gardeners who was cutting back the grasses in this area. Her advice had prompted us to cut the similar grasses in our garden back in the last week or two so it was interesting to see that seasonal job underway once more, though for the most part, there was still a lush growth awaiting a haircut!

We always covet these beautiful planters, especially when there is such an amazing plant in there! I must ask Amy for her advice about how to achieve this dense, bushy growth on my similar plant at home, for mine is leggy and spindly!

What’s especially good to see in February are the numerous patterns created by the fruit trees. Every wall seems to support a different “doodle”; a figure of eight perhaps

or something rather simpler? Each one is beautifully tied and always leaves me thinking “if only our fruit trees would do that!”. (Well, of course, they would if we spent time training them!)

Most of these are apples, generally varieties from English counties and each one labelled with all the details.

Some are spectacular!

We never tire of noticing the beauty underfoot too!

The apple detail is everywhere, including part of the design of this bronze inset acknowledging the designer Patrice Taravella and the geographical coordinates of the garden.

In the late afternoon, the air took on a chill as soon as the sun began to go down. Time to head for a cup of tea!

The chickens were all heading home too and though I’m scared stiff of them, I couldn’t resist admiring the beautiful plumage on this fine feathered creature!

After a fine dinner in the Botanical Rooms we were in no hurry to be up and about the following morning, and opening the shutters confirmed our fears - the weather was appalling! Our plans to enjoy exploring another part of the estate were shelved and instead we lingered over a long breakfast and drove home. Our stay renews our annual membership here and we’ll look forward to returning when the weather is brighter.

We drove home through torrential rain and I not only felt thankful to be warm and dry, but also to be able to join my book group that afternoon, to discuss a really enjoyable book with my friends. Every cloud has a silver lining, eh?