I was in the UK and France earlier this year visiting some friends and my little sister who is currently studying in Bordeaux.

I spent a couple of days in Reading (half an hour out of London) with some family and we got to visit one of my favourite gardens, the Harris Garden at the University of Reading where my grandfather was Dean of the Faculty of Science for a period.

Harris Garden Plan

The modern botanical garden was established in 1972 and is set on the home paddock of a now demolished Victorian house which in turn was built in the landscape garden created by George, Marquis of Blandford between 1798 and 1810.

The above pictures are film, the rest are just from my phone.

This garden is quintessentially English. Very lush, with paths winding through, crossing over, and gently tapering off. There are structured lawns with hedges, flowering meadows and herb gardens. I found a bunch of wild garlic which we discreetly dug one head up to use for dinner that night. It feels quite magical and makes me nostalgic, I felt like a child again.

 

Garden plan from Friends of The Harris Garden.

All photographs by Sophia Kaplan.