An Englishman's Home is his Castle - his garden, his snail shell

A French visitor to England told me he was surprised and delighted by the gardens and greenery of houses in London.

You need go no further than an English garden for endless entertainment. All summer the roses bloom. On the underside of a rose I found this little snail.

Have a rest on this petal.

Oops - you are going to crawl off the plate onto my work surface and disappear. Let's put you on the edge of the sink for a moment.

 You are gorgeous. Stay there while I fetch my camera.

Lovely. In close up I see your shell is a gorgeous spiral. But it's a bit damaged.

Just a minute where

are

you

going?

I knew snails could walk along uneven ground.

I didn't know you could cling 

to a sheer

shiny

metal

sink!

At this point I decided to gather up the snail, by edging it onto the rose petal, and carried it back to the garden to enjoy the plants, roses, and fellow snails and slugs.

What's the difference between a snail and a slug? A snail carries it's protective house on its back and can withdraw into its shell for protection from birds and predators. I don't feel as friendly towards slugs as I do towards snails. I don't eat snails.

The French eat snails. The variety of snail they eat is not the same as the English garden snail.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and author and speaker.

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