There is nothing quite as delicious as spending time in a quintessentially English garden in the glow of the early Summer sun. Set against a brilliant blue sky with occasional fluffy white clouds gently floating by, a well matured and tended garden provides the perfect sanctuary to while away a summer's afternoon under the shade of weeping willows and blossoming fruit trees.

The first thing of note when entering an English garden is the brimming beauty and beautiful scents of blossoms and sweet roses, pretty jasmines and pure white gardenias. Early Summer's first leaves and blooms grow abundantly from their nutritious beds displaying colours that represent the true signature of a garden grown on English soil.

We are fortunate that wonderful gardens can be grown everywhere from country estates set out in extensive grounds to cottages and back gardens to small patios and balconies overflowing with potted herbs, hanging plants, small shrubs and miniature trees.

Spending time in a garden is a wonderful way to relax and savour its precious contents. Being surrounded by the fruits of nature with the juxtaposition of colours, textures, shapes, scents and sounds is pure delight. There is so much to admire with the intertwining of sweet-scented rambling roses, clematis in purples, reds and pinks, golden yellow honeysuckles and vivid green vines. A fully matured garden represents a symphony of life, a living biosphere that attracts hard-working bees, gently fluttering butterflies and a host of pollinators, insects and small wild garden visitors throughout the day.

When a garden is alive with the buzz of wildlife and the cheerful melody of birdsong, it creates a natural vibration that brings peace to the soul by raising our own frequency to the natural rhythm of life. This is why being in a garden is so good for us, especially when we take the time to be still so that we can observe and absorb the harmony that brings us closer to nature and all the benefits it brings. This is true even if you are not actually there but imagining you are there (as you are now by reading this post).

The lure of a garden on an early Summer's day provides the opportunity to drift and feel the sensation of being swept into another world. A world of sweet music and harmony where the essence of nature can be found and experienced in all its glory. As you gently breathe in to relax, you will notice other scents wafting by from flowerbeds of purple and white lavenders, lilacs and sweet peas, and the potted herbs of mint, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano and lemon balm.

After taking some time to sit back and enjoy a garden's smells and sounds, a walk around its beds is a must to saviour what lies within. Gardens of any kind contain many surprises you may not first notice, and which deserve to be discovered and enjoyed.

You might find hidden ferns with unfolding fronds reaching up to greet the sunshine, multicoloured hollyhocks and purple foxgloves standing proud behind the bedded shrubs along the walls, gorgeous heavenly scented wisteria climbing up and over trellised archways and hidden doors, tall feathery catmints and the flowery spikes of pink delphiniums adding colour and texture together with timeless, vivacious peonies taking the stage in the summer sun. And all around you on patios and balconies, you might find colourful clusters of geraniums bringing a hint of Mediterranean to the scene, reminding you of glorious summer holidays spent by the sea.

And so it is, our minds can remember and imagine, and our connection to nature is assured when we find beauty and peace in an English garden made with love in the soothing warmth of the early Summer sun.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf