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Just back from a long weekend in the village of Croscombe, in Somerset between Wells and Shepton Mallet, where The Landmark Trust has a fabulous 15th century building (Old Hall) to rent. Like so many holiday lets, the small garden could not really

or so semi-bonsai topiary trees. Many are sculpted into bobble 'cloud' shapes or manicured to form miniature hedges and climbers around the intricate buildings. They really make the place a magical world and produce a series of spectacular vistas

, it was a Leyland cypress, Cupressocyparis leylandii, a tree so almost totally sterile for wildlife that a plastic Christmas tree would probably house more biological diversity. Secondly, it was so close to a building that any previous advantage of shelter

the European wasps, accidentally transported to the southern hemisphere many years ago, are confused by the lack of clear seasons. Instead of stopping for winter, they continue colony-building for two, three or perhaps even more years, creating huge nests