One of the delights of the longer opening season for National Trust properties in recent years has been exploring the gardens in the late autumn and winter. Several properties have planted Winter Gardens to have particular appeal at this time with colourful barks and stunning seed heads being popular and things you could easily incorporate into your own garden.

However, this is a body devoted to preserving and conserving and all stoneware pots and statuary are sheathed in white sheeting to protect them from frost. Viewed at dusk or later this adds a ghostly quality to the gardens. What may have been a very detailed statue becomes and anonymous, shapeless form, and I can't help feeling there must be a story to be written somewhere. Probably a ghost story or maybe a murder mystery.

On our recent visit to Waddesdon I took some photos of statues I had previously photographed in all their splendour. Sadly I cannot locate these images at present so you will have to take my word for it that this shapeless form conceals Apollo. Elsewhere in the gardens are two ornamental ponds, each with elaborate figures of men and beasts all of which are shrouded from view at this time of year. The same story is repeated in the grounds of many stately homes so for inspiration why not look for one near you for a visit. You may be inspired to write.