What is it about certain places that make you feel safe, make you breathe easier and deeper, that refresh and replenish and start your day with a plus point rather than a point to climb back up from? What if we could bottle the ‘secret ingredient’ and add it the recipe of creating our beautiful gardens, however big or small. When walking on the Sussex South Downs recently – this is how we felt – it was the kind of cold that bites, but wakes you up – the kind of cold that turns your exhaled air to ‘smoke’ – and there we were soaking these splendid views in, the sun and clouds dancing for us, the grass swaying and tree skeletons spectacular – we felt energised and happy, safe and calm – there is something so dramatic and yet so peaceful and secure about this beautiful place, these stunning walkways. We’ve recently been reading Thomas Rainer’s fascinating blog which discusses this in much complexity than we ever could. It explores the idea that a plant or a group of plants can evoke certain emotions based upon an evolved memory of landscapes they are associated -fascinating reading.