The Gardens of Huis Voorstonden

The photos of the gardens of Huis Voorstonden in the Netherlands were taken in October 2005. I visit there regularly as the owners are friends of mine. The little cat on the last photo is Puma, a stray that was found injured from a car accident and then nurtured back to health. Puma lives at Voorstonden now and is a happy and pampered little kittie.

I think the litmus test for any garden is, whether it still looks good towards the end of autumn. Many a garden offers very little of interest then, but Voorstonden has passed that test with flying colours in my opinion.

Everything is grown organically and people are working with nature instead of against it. It's a very tranquil garden and you can walk there for hours as it has lots of woodland as well. In the garden itself, there are several beautiful very old (200+) trees.

Voorstonden opens its garden to the public several times per year. Please contact them via their website for more information.

Beautiful gardens are to be found all over the world, not just in Britain alone. So far I've visited gardens in my own country, the Netherlands, and in Belgium, France, Denmark, Britain and Tuscany, Italy. This year I'm going to Normandy, France and Denmark again (if all goes well) and if at all possible, I would like to visit some gardens in Germany this year too. Any suggestions which gardens to see in Germany?

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Yesterday I was tagged by Ladyluz so now it's my turn to tell 5 things about myself not previously revealed in other posts. Right, here goes:
1) when I was a baby I spend most of my time in the garden, playing in my cot.
2) when I was about 1 year old, Poesja came. She was the very first cat to enter my life.
3) when I was 5 years old I taught myself to read and haven't stopped since
4) shortly before I got married the first pedigree cat Chuck (Blue Persian/Longhair) came into my life
5) and a few years later, I took up gardening under the strict supervision of my cats Chuck, Wendy, Babooshka and Emma.

So, for me gardens, cats and books are an important part of my life. Can't imagine life without any of them.

O for a book and a shady nook,
Either in door or out;
With the green leaves whispering overhead,
Or the street cries all about,
Where I may read all at my ease,
Both of the new and the old;
For a jolly good book whereon to look,
Is better to me than gold.
John Wilson