There was a festival in Hastings called Jack in the Green (http://www.hastingsjack.co.uk/hist.html the other weekend that I was able to go to. Fergus went away for holiday and let me use his home for the weekend since he lives right in "Old Town", which you can see below. It is seperated by hills on either side and leads you right through the town to the ocean. You can go from the one hill through the town to the old hill, or go right to the ocean in all in a matter of 10 minutes, it is fun to have so many views in such a short time.
It was a great time to see this small fishing town wake up and celebrate the beginning of summer with a festive parade that led through the town and ended up at the castle ruins. The large green shrub you see is Jack in the Green and represents what the celebration is all about. There were garlands that were made by different groups throughout the years of this parade but it was the chimney sweepers that made one so big it covered a whole man. This manshrub is now the official character of the celebration.
There were large and beautifully crafted mannequins that were paraded down the small streets. 
One of the many participants with the proverbial green stripe that people will do to you through out the day. The costumes were creative and alot of fun to see.
After a long day of festivities, and people, and people with beer, the coastal footpaths looked very inviting. There are footpaths that run for miles along the coast with some of the most amazing views.
This is a path lined with Ulex europaeus, or Gorse as it is commonly known. It is an evergreen shrub that is all over England since it self seeds in lots of areas. It has thorns and stiff thin foliage on it and was used by farmers as a living fence for their livestock, and also as fuel for baker's ovens, as cattle food, for people to dry their washings, as a chimney brush and as a color dye for Easter eggs. 
There is a saying here that goes, 'When gorse is in bloom, kissing's in season' but what is funny is that it blooms from January through February. It is said that from the English Channel, when the light is hitting the yellow blooms just right, it looks like the cliffs are on fire. 
Further down the footpath on top of some cliffs, about 400 ft. up, was this plant growing right up against the edge. It is called Thrift, Armeria maritima, and is a cushion forming perennial. We weren't sure if it was an allium of some kind or a dianthus but were both wrong.
Here is Thrift growing with English Stonecrop, Sedum anglicum (?) or Sedum acre also known as Biting Stonecrop (due to it's peppery taste). It was exciting to see sedum growing in the wild, but I am not sure which one it is because it was not in bloom. It should be blooming in May if it is Sedum acre.
Having found these plants, and many others, and being curious to find out which Sedum it is, we have decided to do a two day hike from Brighton to Hastings. Plants of interest would be keyed out along the way, and we could follow an old sheep herding trail as well. The route will be figured out. 
On a very warm and sunny day, we went walking on the footpaths along River Rother. There were lots of crop fields that the paths went through with some pretty amazing Oaks. Even though this one is dead it still caught my eye. 
About 200 feet away were all of these white birds moving around a bit. Turns out there were about 12 white swans that were nesting in the middle of the crop field, just out in the open. When walking on the paths they would crane their heads straight up to see what kind of danger we were to them. I have had some pretty close encounters with 
The Bluebells again in the evening......
The front meadow again with a clipped hedge......
Simple pink Camelia blossoms in a simple pink vase in the pantry kitchen........
There are trails that you can take throught the countryside called footpaths and pedestrians have the right of way even though they go through private properties. I followed some and kept waiting to get shot at but never did. There are so many fields you get to walk to and so many beautiful views. There is a windmill that I plan on walking to and also a castle. So far these guys are the only living things I have encountered....
Another foot path that I call the "scary footpath" because it was dark from all the pines and huge, massive doves kept flying out and startling me, and it was also getting dark. I plan on going back to this spot though to see the ferns when they awaken (they are the brown on the lower right).
This is my favorite neighbor so far, his name is Ringo and he calls and calls when I come to visit. You will love my new friend......
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of going to Wisley Gardens with Fergus where he was to judge some perennial plants with others. These are the trial fields of Wisley where all of the plants are available to the public in the trade. It was great to see all of the information regarding the plants. 
And here is my first sighting of our favorite celebrity tree, the Monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). It seemed he didn't want his photo taken as he kept flipping me off.......
The beautiful hillside garden with it's many glorious conifers........
And the new glass house at Wisley, a beautiful shape. 
I also went sheep herding with Fergus' sheep too............ I am now a country boy. And here with any further ado is Ringo...............
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