July 2025

The old lavender bushes growing here are now as tall as I am! Why they are so big I have no idea; the thousands of flower spikes are alive with bumblebees of all kinds, a joy to behold. Each year I cut some of the flowers to hang indoors in bunches, their scent becoming very much a part of our house in summer. Each year I am amazed to see the variety of insect life in our garden, from the tiniest brightly patterned moth to the weird and wonderful sabre wasp, which I saw for the first time in my life only last week. As I sit sewing in our little summerhouse on sunny days, I love to hear the sounds of the birds and insects all around me; I realise more than ever how precious each spark of life truly is.

June 2025

Many flowers appear in June, looking their best surrounded by fresh new greenery. Roses burst forth along with several garden border favourites and the poppies. Their brilliant red flowers appear every year in the wilder areas of our garden along with unusual pastel variations, which are a throwback to when we grew a lot of Shirley poppies here years ago.

There is a wonderful poppy poem by our Poet Laureate Simon Armitage called ‘In Retrospect’ which can be found easily online. In it he beautifully describes the qualities of the poppy, its resilience and significance.

‘in fallow fields and railway sidings, on roundabouts, verges and no man’s land, from the brickwork of old chimneys and bridges and cracks in the pavement……’ 

May 2025

The sunshine of this year’s Mayday brings out the colour of every petal and leaf giving the garden a brilliance not seen for many months! Spring has put on her best and brightest show for us this year, which along with the chorus of birdsong, certainly gladdens the heart. This picture is of the quince tree which we planted over 25 years ago. Its blossom is my favourite of all, from the tiny deep pink buds to the fully opened delicate floaty blooms, which this year are more numerous than ever. I am hopeful of a good harvest of quinces for jelly-making this year; some years there may be just one or two!