Just me in my garden.

I do find spending time in the garden restful and a great source of colour inspiration. The Asiatic lilies have come out wonderfully this year and you can smell their fragrance wafting across the garden. I love the smell - but outside. I once had a huge vase of them in a small bedroom and woke up find my eyes had totally swollen up as a reaction to the pollen. So I plant them in the garden where I can still appreciate the beauty and smell without the side effects!

I know they are big and blowsy flowers but I think they are lovely and bold - and exotic. Looking about my garden, I find I have a bit of a mixture, cottage garden plants like lady's mantle and daisies - big and in your face daisies;-) but also blowsy Dalias in scarlet, magenta and orange and gladioli in purples, reds and lilacs. Still waiting on some to show.

I love big daisies. It reminds me of Meg Ryan in the film 'you've got mail'. She said that daisies were such a friendly flower. Yes, they look happy and open - and they are loving all the rain we are having for our British summer but the rain is beautiful too....

I love the tiny little beaded raindrops on the lady's mantle leaves - like raindrops on cobwebs.

We also have this tree that is in flower right now with the most gorgeous scent - nearly like Jasmine. I can't remember what it is called but its from New Zealand and the bees just love it! When you pass, there is a distinct noisy humming of industious bees. The small flowers eventually fall off and carpet the ground in white. It is so thick at the moment, it looks like snow!

Subtlty, delicacy and in your face Dahlias:-) This is a much stronger red in real life - deeper in tone with a rich, velvet quality. I'll try and capture it properly again before it goes.

So when the weather is reasonably fair, I can contemplate the colours with the relaxing drone of the bees and the joyous cries of the soaring hawks overhead. Just me in my garden.