Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

Sun and sea in the Happy Valley

SUNSHINE blazes down on Magnolia Avenue. A Red Admiral flutters past. Azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom, and green daffodil spikes scissor the banks. It's January, but not as we know it. This is Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, a happy valley folded into the most breathtaking stretch of the Jurassic Coast, next to the Fleet Lagoon and the wide blue glory of Lyme Bay. It's blessed with its own micro-climate, which means it rarely gets a frost. So the flora and fauna are throwing a party in this, one of the mildest winters on record. I can't believe I'm getting paid to be here. (I work for Watershed PR, promoting Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, among other clients, and today I get a guided tour from Curator Steve Griffith.) Steve breeds pheasants, and scatters down breakfast seeds for them to squabble over. We pass the ****aburra enclosure. One's hunched in the nesting box. Read the rest of this blog at http://totallydorset.com/2012/01/11/1474/

By Emily_P at 22:12 on 28/03/12