Green, green everywhere

Every time I go out at the moment I'm blown away by the very greenness of everything.  I love July and August with their summer heat and holidays and harvests, but right now is the time of year when I just have the word "glorious" in my mind all the time.  After the bare branches of winter, suddenly everything looks different.  Thick heavy green, everywhere.  I've always forgotten what it looks like by spring.  Every year it's a surprise.  When we drive along country roads I exclaim about it constantly.  I'm not sure anyone else here gets it.

Look at the horse chestnut flowers.  Aren't they extraordinary?  And the trees are majestic.  Not English natives, but our landscape has adopted them and they thrive here.

I went to the allotment this morning because the forecast was for sun all day.  Tomorrow's is for rain all day.  Today was gorgeous, like summer, but I'll love the rain tomorrow as well.  The chance to stay in and listen to the rain drumming on the windows.  And of course all my watering will be done.

The asparagus has been doing well, and there was a big pot of radishes to bring home.  Blackcurrants and gooseberries are swelling, and happily the two new apple trees are flowering at the same time, which means they should pollinate each other.  There are masses of flowers on the broad beans and the strawberries are looking a bit cheerier than they were.  They struggled slightly with the weedproof membrane, some of their leaves and berries went out horizontally underneath the fabric rather than out the top.  I've pulled them out and pegged it down a bit more.

The garden shop on the high street had stocks on offer when I went in earlier.  The scent is fabulous.  I picked up three and put them in a pot together by the back door.  Forgot to photograph them, I'll do it another day.  Hopefully the scent will waft into the kitchen a bit.  It smells like the summer days of my childhood.