Who knows how long he’ll be: being out in the garden at Thenford is not like being out in most gardens.

It is also well-known for its sculpture garden, which has an eclectic collection of work ranging from a white marble Tazza fountain to an enormous statue of Lenin. Full of rich photography, it is a celebration of four decades of horticultural triumphs and disasters .Before I go, then, I ask if the book marks an end point of sorts; if the great project of their lives is complete.

Feeling embarrassed about my firm position in the latter camp, I talk ruefully about my own back garden, whose state of disrepair can be summarised by the ominous weed that keeps sliding in under the back door. Today, the garden at Thenford has an arboretum which contains more than 3,500 different species of trees and shrubs, including rare plants which were wild-collected by well known plantsmen including Roy Lancaster OBE, Allen Coombes, Keith Rushforth and Chris Chadwell. Michael and Anne Heseltine tell the story of how they created their extraordinary garden and arboretum at Thenford.Do you remember, when we lived at Wilton Crescent, we used to walk back from the House of Commons with your heavies, and presumably they weren’t doing their stuff this time. But now they are on the run and, as a result, says Anne, “we are hearing and seeing all sorts of birds that we didn’t before. The beauty of having spring and rose gardens, as well as woodland walks and water gardens, is that ‘every day is different, each bit of the garden has its moment’, observes Anne. Written in both their voices, each taking different chapters, with warmth, amusing anecdotes and respect for the people who have helped advise and craft it' Garden Design Journal.