Love those "L" gardens - lush, luxuriant and luring!

A long way from London lie a number of wonderful "L" gardens that are really worth making the effort to go and see. Start with Lamorran (above), a glorious hillside garden on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall. This garden is quite different to others you will find in the area, because it's Italianate in style, has wonderful views over the water and is filled with interesting sculpture and statuary features. But sadly, not for the feint-hearted or anyone with a walking disability because it is on quite a steep hill and some of the paths are very narrow.

Move onto Lytes Cary, which I visited for the first time because I had seen a picture of the entrance to the house (above) and couldn't resist the temptation to go and see it for myself. This is a glorious six-acre Arts and Crafts garden with immaculate topiary and near enough to many other gardens to make it worth while making a special trip to the area so you can enjoy them all (these "other" gardens include Barrington Court, Cothay Manor, East Lambrook Manor, Hestercombe and Tintinhull).

Larmer Tree was a new discovery for me in 2011 and I'm really glad I found it! An extraordinary and beautiful garden which was created for the people to enjoy - a genuine pleasure garden - and one of the most unusual I've seen in my travels so far! It retains the stages and theatre sets that were used in its heyday to provide entertainment. A real gem, with a wonderful water garden (above). By the end of the 19th century it was attracting 44,000 visitors a year - that's higher numbers than some gardens today!

Another watery wonderland that had been on my Wish List since I started this blog a couple of years back was Longstock Park in Wiltshire (above) - the John Lewis garden that opens twice a month for different charities during the summer months, but is actually a pleasure garden for partners of the firm, who can visit whenever they like. Well worth finding out when open days are because it's a feast for the eyes, and quite different from anything else you'll see.

Leonardslee was one of the most spectacular gardens I saw this year (above) - a magical garden filled with azaleas that give a show like no other in Britain when they come into bloom in May, but sadly sold this year to a mystery buyer. Nobody knows whether the new owner will re-open to the public in 2011, but it's going to be a great loss for garden lovers if they stay closed, because this spring spectacle is truly remarkable, so fingers crossed for all of us who like to gawp at other people's gardens!

This concludes my alphabet series until the new year as I'm nearly half way through, but if the "Big Freeze" carries on and I'm stuck at home much longer, I may start on the Marvellous "M" gardens early!

  Season's Greetings to all my readers and I hope you have a warmer holiday 

than us here in the UK!