Editor’s letter
I have two memories of Arundel, the market town in West Sussex dominated by an impressive medieval castle. As a child, it was where I learned to swim. Coached by the fearsome Mr Prescott in an open-air pool, I would splash up and down with the sight of the castle on the hill a constant in my attempts to keep my head above water. My other memory is of an afternoon sitting watching the cricket in the idyllic grounds just beyond the castle’s imposing flint knap walls. Now I have a new association – Arundel’s magnificent Tulip Festival, with the castle providing a suitably dramatic backdrop to the displays. On page 40, the castle’s head gardener Martin Duncan picks some of his favourite tulips found amid the 36,000 planted in myriad arrangements throughout the castle grounds. It’s an inspiring selection and one that helps to define the exuberance of spring. Another of spring’s key markers is blossom. In Japan, crowds gather to picnic beneath the brimming branches of cherry blossom in hanami celebrations. On page 74, we give a selection of recipes to encourage you to enjoy your own blossom-appreciation occasion. Also in this issue, we return to designer Mary Keen’s Cotswold garden (page 50) to see how winter has given way to spring with a soft, fresh green clothing the garden. With Easter in the middle of April this year, we can look forward to a flower-filled holiday weekend and I hope the various spring displays we have highlighted in this issue give you plenty to admire and consider for your own gardens.
SORREL EVERTON, ACTING EDITOR