Green angles at Wisley

Sharp pools, angular hedges, doorways that demand your attention as you walk past. Frances Hodgson Burnett has a lot to answer for when it comes to walled gardens.

There are moments when I pine for our old garden. I don't miss the trees or shade or endless raking, nor the teeny tiny one bedroom flat, but I do miss the size, the vista, the line that drew the eye to create a sense of countryside in the heart of London.

I'd love to replicate some of these views but our new garden just doesn't have the depth. I love the warm, cloaking, comforting sense of hamlet that our view of red brick roofs over the back evoke, but there is a teeny tiny part of me that wishes we had land. I irritate myself with my impatience about the challenge ahead. Our garden will be destroyed when we extend, but with no concept of when the building work will take place it must remain in limbo. No new plants added, no money spent, because it's a waste. Once the driveway is built, we can focus our attention on creating a cottage garden at the front - verbena, dahlias, general pretty.

We'll just have to spend more time at Painshill Park, Wisley and Claremont Gardens to satisfy my grandiose day dreaming.