Driving the back roads of Carmarthenshire in spring, beneath broad oaks, over little stone bridges and along stretches of fertile woodland, windswept peatland and flowery meadows, I was reminded of the rudimentary treasure maps I loved drawing as a child. The ones composed of contrasting, caricatured environments spaced neatly within the concise contours of a fictional island, say, bearing labels like Wild Wood, Barren Bog and Misty Hills. Enticing though these untamed landscapes are, I’m in search of a different kind of bounty.
Beyond its green, green hills, castles, beaches and historic market towns (not least Dylan Thomas’s Laugharne), Carmarthenshire is also considered the Garden of Wales – which was news to me, despite family ties to the area. I’ve visited some of these botanical highlights over the years, such as Aberglasney Gardens for their tonal variety and the National Botanic Garden with its astounding glasshouse.
