a day well spent

Broomhill hotel and sculpture garden is about passion and determination.  It is a beautiful place tucked just outside of my Dad’s guesthouse in Braunton; a mere bike ride away and well, many know I have a weak spot for bike riding. This lovely place tickled my inner Alice in Wonderland no end as I admired the stunningly inspiring sculpture garden and 'done for love' hotel complete with hanging art and curious pieces on display. Its a place of passion for collecting paintings and sculpture. A great spot for tea and an organic ploughman's while wondering in its gardens in awe with my first love, Dad.

The line that accompanies Broomhill is ‘the art of a well-spent day’. That is precisely how I felt after a day trip day with my Dad as I commented ‘this one’s going in the memory bank Pops’ and it has so much that I am writing about it.

With an exhibition in the gallery, numerous sculptures in the garden, a band performing for weekly jazz nights, Broomhill is a wonderfully inspiring project from the two owners that decided to bring their dreams and passions to life. As a place to visit in British Summertime; it made me happy. Artistic explorations in the woods accompanied by yummy outdoor gastronomic smiles, a bike ride and one of my favourite men's company. Ticked all the boxes. If you ever grace North Devon in the UK with your presence allow Broomhill to grace you too.

This place illuminates some of the cheesey catch-phrases I have found myself saying as I play around The Brookfield Guesthouse (which my very British Dad loves to tease me about); 'teamworks dreamwork', 'live to give' and 'sharing's caring'; 

"What would you say if those words didn't rhyme Jessica?" the old man says with more of a preference to acronyms such as "JFDI" for "Just F*cking Do It".

He's speaking to a lady who worked in advertising.

"You can't kid a kidder" I quoted back to him. That one's his.

me julie’s garden

"The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there." George Bernard Shaw

This summer as I returned to the UK for time with family and friends; I spent a good duration at The Brookfield; my Dad and second-mum’s guesthouse in Braunton, North Devon.

Besides indulging a game of backgammon or bike ride with the old man and yummy sunny luncheon with Julie, I also practiced a bit of goodness and worked at the guesthouse as its also a very busy time for them both. There I would learn how to do hospital corners on bed sheets and use a press iron.  One of the other skills I acquired was a spot of gardening.  

Gardening for me was always been a ‘pop it in a pot and give it water’ job for me and really my plants have been limited to houseplants beside the one time 7 years ago when I got a bonsai tree, went on two week ski trip and came back to it dead. A big lesson for me. 

Julie (my second mum) on the other hand, is an incredibly talented gardener as was her mum. So consequently her garden is a wonderful retreat to sit out in, flush with blooming colours and relaxing vibrations. I asked Julie what the key is to creating a stunning garden and she explained the importance of having “an eye for contrasts and textures, time and dedication” and her appreciation for continued learning while “discovering new plants”.

 What do you love about gardening? “I like to potter in my creations. To see new life develop from cuttings I’ve taken and to be able to pick fresh from the garden in order to cook”

Julie and I took out two trees from the root while we were in the garden. While such a simple task of digging a big hole, shaking the branches and yanking the roots with fierce determination – it was very, very satisfying and now Jules has space to plant some beautiful colourful flowers that give life as opposed to the old trees that were taking away the goodness...I will be leaving Julie’s garden inspired to do more.