If dark winter nights and cold winter days are getting you down, Rosemary & Thyme is a mystery series guaranteed to cheer you up. Starring Felicity Kendal  and Pam Ferris amateur sleuths Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme, each episode is like a summer trip to the English countryside.

Rosemary, a professor of horticulture who loses her job, and Laura, a hobby gardener and former policewoman recently jilted by her husband, meet while trying to reconstruct their lives. They form a gardening business, and though their horticulture expertise is exceptional, either their judgement or their timing is horrendous. No matter how innocent and everyday their new clients appear to be at the beginning of each episode, their gardens are magnets for dead bodies. But the clients don’t find the bodies (sometimes the clients are the bodies) and call the police. Rosemary and Thyme do.

Like all mystery series, the story arc of each episode is predictable. The clues are so out in the open, about half the time I can solve the mystery before the sleuths do. Even so, the series is worth watching. The show is absolute eye candy. Week after the week, talented cinematographers film charming gardens in cozy villages, seaside resorts, titled estates and gated city parks to best advantage. And the show’s introduction is one of the most beautiful ever created.

The writing allows time for Kendal and Ferris to develop their characters and their relationship. They’re intelligent women making their way through life. The women’s wardrobes reflect their personalities and the colors in the gardens. Best of all, the women are dressed as gardeners, not sex objects – unusual and commendable for a series filmed from 2003 – 2007.

So if you’re looking for a way to stay sane this winter, give Rosemary & Thyme a try. I found them at the library, but a friend says she gets them from Netflicks. They’re a great way to visit England without jet lag!