Sowing the seeds of change - goodbye September!

September has been a memorable month for me - I spent two fantastic weeks in Cuba (that's me above, on the way back from birdwatching in Vinales) - which surpassed all my expectations. I visited the botanical gardens in  Cienfuegos - where I found the most beautiful plant with the worst scent I've ever encountered (below) - and Havana; spent several days in Cornwall, where I discovered a whole new sub-tropical garden world even though I was there to commemorate my late father; enjoyed sunny days in Sussex although there's a serious autumn chill in the air; saw the finishing touches being added to the Deesha Hospital in India in preparation for opening (I leave for India in just over a week, so do follow me from there!); found many wonderful new blogs (more on that later) ... and suddenly autumn is upon us!

Cornwall opened many new doors for me (below) as I discovered the remarkable world of sub-tropical gardens (I haven't had time to review them all yet, but will do so in the next few weeks. I went to Trengwainton and Trewidden - both creations of the Bolitho family; visited Godolphin, which is undergoing a huge transformation under the stewardship of the National Trust; went to a sculpture garden that promises to be one of the best gardens in the UK; and enjoyed two wonderful Devon  gardens - Docton Mill and Marwood Hill on the way home - both real surprises.

And as for fabulous new blogs I've found this month .. there's Rhone Street Garden, a wonderful mix of pictures and words that will have you begging for more; A Digital Botanic Garden, which I can't stop dropping in on; and Garden Delights, which has more stunning photographs, although I have to say that I'm mentioning this blogger here because they have even more energy than me!! And that's saying something!

And as the sun begins to set on September, I'm getting ready to leave for India ... yes, again ... but this time to open the hospital in Rajasthan! Construction is complete and we have a grand opening on October 21st, so do please, please follow our progress in the next few weeks. You've all been wonderfully supportive in the last two years with all your comments and encouragement, particularly those of you who follow us on Facebook.

And in conclusion, I want to say a really special thank you to Sussex Prairies (above) - one of my favourite gardens anywhere and close neighbours of mine - who will be open this weekend and who donated part of their proceeds from a previous open weekend to The Raven Foundation - thank you Paul and Pauline for helping us "Sow the Seeds of Change"! That's what we're about to do!