Odontophobia

Odontophobia:: (noun) an unnatural dread or terror of teeth.

It seems a bit strange to have a terror of teeth; unless it's those jagged pearlies in the smile of an approaching shark. I have no problems with teeth themselves, but visiting the dentist- 'dental fear'- is definitely on my most hated personal chore list. The lady dentist herself is lovely but the prodding and poking and 'open wide please' is a problem, plus there is the ever looming threat of a possible filling or tooth pull. Luckily my teeth are in pretty good shape so I am on a yearly checkup and it's usually an in/out scenario, but I still get shaky whilst waiting in the waiting room for my name to be called out. The room itself also looks like a poshed up torture chamber with the monstrous, all bells and whistles rising chair in the centre surrounded by bright lights and sharp, gleaming torture tools- it doesn't help with the nerves, however many smiling dentists and nurses surround it.
Today was, unfortunately, one such day and I have taken the whole day off of work to recover from any possible horrors that may have occurred. Thankfully all looks well and she was very impressed with my newfound wisdom in the wisdom tooth that has broken through, and has no plans to unceremoniously yank it out any time soon.
The relief of a painless examination resulted in more shakes so a quick visit to the coffee shop next door for a takeaway, and a calming walk to one of my favourite places in the world was definitely required. My dental practice is in Lewes, East Sussex, which is such a beautiful area of the world and has featured many times on my blog. It has a castle (pictured at the top), lots of quirky buildings and twisty side roads, and has many surprises hiding away behind shop facades.

A walk down one such twisty side road, which drops very steeply downhill, leads to my favourite post-dentist recovery place, Southover Grange Gardens. Elvis visited here with me last year around the same time- again after a dentist appointment (I have definitely developed a routine) and it was interesting to see many of the same plants re-planted again this time around.

It's such a lovely place to sit and drink coffee. The bench was, admittedly, slightly damp, but soggy bottom ignored, the sunshine was gently warming from behind, there were birds singing, children laughing as they played hide and seek in the garden next door, the wind playing with the trees and grasses so they rustled together, beautiful views all around and the smell of coffee wafting out from the cup. A peaceful oasis to relax and recuperate.

The Dahlia bed was there again this year and was as stunning as last year! If only I was able to have a rainbow border like this in our garden, how amazing would that be?! Spiky, soft, curled, flat, spherical, flat, puffy, pointy...every shape imaginable and in all sorts of colours and sizes!! Absolutely the best part of the garden for me.

Of course there are sections for all kinds of people here. This little gateway leads through to the Knot Garden which is walled and separated out with hedges. It has a similar atmosphere to that of a library or museum, rather hushed and serious; as if, if you spoke too loudly a stern looking elf would leap out from behind a bush and stare you back into silence with a finger to their lips.

There are also raised rockery type beds, shady little corners, a formal rose garden (past its best so I didn't photograph), loose tree and grass areas, tree covered walkways... nearly every kind of garden imaginable, all squeezed into this tiny little space.

Wildlife is abundant here as well. I saw a little mouse scurrying around in the undergrowth and there are tiny birds under every bush and in every tree, rummaging through the dried leaves underfoot and making a surprising amount of noise for such little creatures in their quest for a juicy snack.

I now feel fully recovered from my toothy appointment, and even went on to have a rather drastic haircut earlier this afternoon!! 8 inches off!! I'm feeling much lighter now. x