Kingston Lacey was bequeathed to the National Trust by the Bankes family. The highlight for me was the Japanese garden which was mostly shaded, and very tranquil. Populated entirely with Japanese native plants, it was full of texture and shape. I had a go at finding my inner Zen amongst the acers and maples I found in the more formal garden. Beyond the Japanese garden and across a country road was the kitchen garden. I always make a beeline for kitchen gardens, as I am really interested in growing vegetables. The kitchen garden is relatively small, and was suffering a little with the very hot weather we had experienced in the previous couple of months, but nonetheless, I was still quite interested to walk around. We then visited the café where I had a very pleasant cheese scone and cheese and pickle, washed down with quite a fiery gingerbeer, and Neil had a frittata. We took it in turns to go into the house, whilst the other remained with the dogs in the shade of the outside café garden.
Jalapeno Escapes 