The one-liners abounded when news came that the remains of Richard III were found in a car park in Leicester – the most oft-repeated: “Was Jimmy Hoffa with him?”

History is ever-present in England, and although the Romans left the island in the 5^th century, they are a continually in the news, and so I could not resist including a thread of Anglo-Roman history in The Garden Plot my first Potting Shed mystery, which includes a Roman tile mosaic. My inspiration came from many sources. Leighton and I are fascinated by remnants of a 2,000-year-old civilization that exist alongside modern elements such as the Gherkin and the Shard. Emerge from the Tower Hill Tube station, for example, and your met with a piece of Roman wall.

Roman ruins in London are, as Pru’s friend Jo says in The Garden Plot, “as common as dirt.” Workers building the Thameslink in 2011 found a Roman bath near London Bridge Street.

Exhibits in the British Museum and the Museum of London helped with my research. I wanted to see tile work up close and personal, and I snapped a few pictures to remember them by.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Starring Nothofagus!

Also starring – what kind of pine is that?

Gardeners see movies and television shows differently. We’re distracted by what is behind, beside, and above the actors. Their lines, the scene, whole pieces of action can go by while we try to figure out which magnolia that is on the far right. Or, in the case of “The Hobbit,” what all those darn conifers are dotting the mountains that Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves are walking over.

Plants of the Southern Hemisphere intrigue gardeners – the trees look like something we should know, but can’t quite put our fingers on. A conifer called the black pine is really Prumnopitys taxifolia. What?

Nothofagus menziesii

That’s one reason New Zealand worked so well for filming Tolkien’s work. The Southern beech (Nothofagus sp.) woods create dappled light and the fallen leaves – many species are evergreen, but even evergreen plants lose leaves at some point, just not all at once – make a fine forest floor. Remember the skirmish that Frodo and Boromir had at the end of FOTR? They were both slipping on the tiny dried leaves; it reminds me of leaf litter from a live oak (Quercus virginiana).

While watching a British period drama, gardeners admire how well the yew hedge is trimmed. The characters stroll along, confiding secrets to each other without a care for who is lurking on the other side of the wall of green. You’d think they would know better.

Often, gardeners catch mistakes – filming out of season. If it’s supposed to be summer, why are there daffodils in the background? And why are there no leaves in that hazel thicket? The giant sequoia wasn’t introduced to Britain until the 19^th century – what’s it doing there behind Henry VIII? Ha, ha – what fools!

Unless the plants are integral the story – as in the Clive Owen movie “Greenfingers” – directors of films and television shows know they must keep plants in the background. Can you imagine what would happen if they filmed an important scene (“pay attention to these clues!”) while the characters stood next to an Embothrium in May? The tree, covered in shocking orange flowers, would shout louder than any character could talk.

What – April? That’s the last time I posted something here? Let’s just say that time has flown by, and there’s much to catch up on. Paris, London, Edinburgh with gardens and friends all along the way. More on that later.

But first – next year. Plans are already afoot for our May tour to England. This will be a hybrid tour – sites of some of our favorite British television shows – Downton Abbey, Port Wenn, the Tudors – plus gardens. PIctured here is The Courts, a lovely small National Trust garden near Chippenham. Can’t wait to go back.

Interested? Let me know.