Time for winter movies, where plants play the starring role! This year I've chosen several episodes from the popular Rosemary & Thyme series that aired from 2003 to 2007. This "English cozy" style mystery series stars Felicity Kendal as Rosemary Boxer, and Pam Ferris as Laura Thyme.
The series is set mainly in England, but also in various European and Mediterranean locations (to accommodate the short window for good filming weather). The key for us is that it serves up lots of beautiful gardens, sun-drenched locations, and interesting characters, along with entertaining side dishes of mystery and murder, perfect for beating the dark days of winter.
Laura and Rosemary hit it off, and soon they are pooling skills and experience to investigate the horticulture mystery. Laura is an avid gardener and was a police woman before she retired to raise a family, and Rosemary knows a lot about plants and their diseases. When Sam dies from an apparent heart attack, and Daniel begins to improve once he is hospitalized away from the estate, Rosemary and Laura determine to find out what's going on, and why the creepy housekeeper, Mrs. Potts, seems so familiar.
I enjoy the English cozy style of story telling, and like this version's integration of two modern and engaging women and the gardening theme. The beautiful setting at the Winterbourne estate with the beautiful plants and trees make this episode and series perfect for winter movie watching. If you'd like a little escapism, while waiting for seed catalogs to appear and early spring gardening tasks to do, I recommend this series. I found it on DVD in our local library, available through online retailers, and on YouTube. I also found the synopsis of all episodes on Wikipedia, and filming locations on Wikimedia (more to keep you busy)!
The series is set mainly in England, but also in various European and Mediterranean locations (to accommodate the short window for good filming weather). The key for us is that it serves up lots of beautiful gardens, sun-drenched locations, and interesting characters, along with entertaining side dishes of mystery and murder, perfect for beating the dark days of winter.
And No Bird Sings (Season 1, Episode 1)
In the opening episode, Laura Thyme is leaving to see family friends, Sam and Vickie Trent, before checking into The White Hart bed-and-breakfast, after learning that her police officer husband of 27 years has dumped her for a younger woman. At the bed-and-breakfast, she meets Dr. Rosemary Boxer, a plant pathologist who was hired by Daniel and Alicia Kellaway to determine why trees are dying at their estate. Coincidentally, Daniel is suffering from severe skin and respiratory ailment but is attended by his seemingly doting wife. While investigating, Rosemary learns that she has been unfairly sacked from the university by her ex-boss/ex-boyfriend.Laura and Rosemary hit it off, and soon they are pooling skills and experience to investigate the horticulture mystery. Laura is an avid gardener and was a police woman before she retired to raise a family, and Rosemary knows a lot about plants and their diseases. When Sam dies from an apparent heart attack, and Daniel begins to improve once he is hospitalized away from the estate, Rosemary and Laura determine to find out what's going on, and why the creepy housekeeper, Mrs. Potts, seems so familiar.
I enjoy the English cozy style of story telling, and like this version's integration of two modern and engaging women and the gardening theme. The beautiful setting at the Winterbourne estate with the beautiful plants and trees make this episode and series perfect for winter movie watching. If you'd like a little escapism, while waiting for seed catalogs to appear and early spring gardening tasks to do, I recommend this series. I found it on DVD in our local library, available through online retailers, and on YouTube. I also found the synopsis of all episodes on Wikipedia, and filming locations on Wikimedia (more to keep you busy)!
The sedge has withered from the lake
And no bird sings.
By John Keats (1795–1821), from La Belle Dame Sans Merci
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