Puzzle Description

Claire Cumerford's delightful puzzle called The Potter's Bench is another example of a a day in the garden with all sorts of animals spectating as the gardener prepares her garden for the upcoming season. Gardening in the UK is a perennial hobby as the temperate climate is conducive to growing a wide range of plants and flowers. The season is generally quite long and can start as early as March especially in the south. Of course these smaller home gardens take their cue from some quite magnificent stately manor gardens dotted throughout the UK.

The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden , is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical French formal garden which had emerged in the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The English garden presented an idealised view of nature. The large estate English garden usually included a lake, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. The work of Lancelot "Capability" Brown was particularly influential. By the end of the 18th century the English garden was being imitated by the French landscape garden, and as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia. It also had a major influence on the form of the public parks and gardens which appeared around the world in the 19th century. The English landscape garden was usually centred on the English country house, and many examples in the United Kingdom are popular visitor attractions today.

The National Trust was founded in 1895 to "promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest". It was given statutory powers, starting with the National Trust Act 1907. Historically, the Trust acquired land by gift and sometimes by public subscription and appeal, but after World War II the loss of country houses resulted in many such properties being acquired either by gift from the former owners or through the National Land Fund. Country houses and estates still make up a significant part of its holdings, but it is also known for its protection of wild landscapes such as in the Lake District and Peak District. As well as the great estates of titled families, it has acquired smaller houses including some whose significance is not architectural but through their association with famous people, for example, the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon.