a formal garden - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

The lake-side air was pungent with the fragrance of jasmine. This was no natural basin filled with melt water, but the luxury addition to a formal garden by an earl with both copious leisure time and money. On his death he bequeathed it to the a charity to run for their benefit. For a small fee tourists and locals alike could escape the traffic and the frenetic movement of people. Jonah stepped closer to the edge and crouched down. From six feet up the surface was an opaque green, but from just two it was clear enough to see the plants and life below the surface. He had expected the highly coloured japanese Koi Carp and he wasn't disappointed, if anything he was impressed. They were huge and numerous, each about as long as his arm. He gazed across the wind-ruffed surface to the lily pads in bloom, their white or magenta petals catching the breeze. He inhaled slowly. Peace. His little piece of heaven in the urban jungle. It was worth the annual membership many times over.