This half term the children and I took a trip to my parent's house for a few days. They live in Essex near the coast in a lovely little cottage surrounded by a big and interesting garden (I may even go as far as to say 'piece of land'). I'm always flooded with feel-good endorphins when the children are out and about exploring the garden, doing stuff that kids are supposed to do! I love going back there as it is beautiful in a really uncontrived way, a sentiment I want to get across with The Wise House.

So, when we arrive we always do a circuit of the garden which goes a bit like this. First stop, feed the chickens and collect the eggs. My daughter Rose is a bit of a natural at this as she deftly plucks them from the straw (she should have been born in the woods that one, she's at her happiest outside getting grubby). The chickens are called Diddly-do and Daisy, named by the neighbour's children. They like to follow us around and often hang out on the bench next to the kitchen so as not to miss out.

Then onto the vineyard. In Essex I hear you cry? Yes indeed, my dad's hobby is to grow and make his own wine, up to 1000 bottles from one years crop. It's a hobby that family and friends also get to benefit from (as long as its been a good year)! For the children the rows of vines provide lanes for racing which they insist we all join in on. So the kids, me, mum and dad hare it up and down the vines - what a sight. Will is the fastest and usually wins until he has to give Rose a 20 pace headstart so that she can win a few too...

We then come to the dilapidated caravan that my mum hates (but the kids love). It smells and is infested with insects but the children don't mind at all and hide underneath the grotty old, woodlice ridden duvet - my idea of a nightmare.

Onwards to the little woods at the end. Now this bit is my favourite, we walk all the way through to the metal sheets which we lift up to find slow worms and field mice. Chris Packham would be proud of us. We then walk out into the meadow which is full of wild flowers, just beautiful. So we make our way across the field past the neighbour's garden at which point we usually lose the children over the fence into their garden for a play.

Now this time, I was on the lookout for something on which to display the Hipster Bags at the next stall. My dad always has an array of random 'things' around the garden. After the offer of a barrel (not suitable for bag hanging), a large gate (which would need a small crane to lift) and something else I can only describe as a 'contraption', we happened upon an old piece of fence which turned on its side did the job just perfectly. Here it is with a few photos of the rapscallions;

Wild Rose
Thanks Mum	Gorgeous Alliums