High Summer Tour: Between Crisp Leaves and Blooms

The high summer garden tour of towering flowers, dry corners, and second chances. Sun-scorched yet quietly hopeful

Hello again… I thought I would just wait for you here in the shade, just outside the garden gates. Would you like to grab a drink before we begin? The air is thick and muggy today, and the path beneath our feet crackles with the crisp debris of pine needles and ivy leaves (both shedding early in protest at the relentless heat). The leaf litter looks more like October than July.

Take a deep breath before we dive in. You might catch a faint trace of roses on the breeze, while the leaves of the ash, birch and hornbeam shift and sigh above us. There’s a breeze trying its best to get going, albeit lazy and half-hearted.

I’ll click open the latch and let the gates swing wide. Inside, the soft trickle of water from the lotus bowl drifts through the stillness. A refreshing babble by day, a cooling lullaby by night… Let’s stroll on, nice and slow. I’ve got lots to show you.