Although Summer is not my favourite season, it offers so many little joys and sweet moments that I truly appreciate every day. Today is a humble and heartfelt tribute to the things I like best about Summer. Spoiler alert: heat and blazing sun do not belong here (I live in Scotland, you know!)
Wild Flower Meadows
How can I convey the utter joy, peaceful contentment and sparkling magic that flood me when I stand amongst millions of wild flowers on a mid-Summer’s day? All those glowing little faces nodding gently in the breeze, giggling appreciatively as they open to the warmer weather and colour the landscape… there is nothing quite like it, and it is one of my very favourite things about Summer.
Longer Daylight Hours
Throughout the year I am never too keen on artificial light, so one thing I always appreciate during the warmer months is having more natural light so that I get extra time to do more of what I love and still stay in tune with the pace of the Sun. More time for crochet, reading, taking care of the plants…
Garden Teas
Summer is a real treasure trove when it comes to concocting highly hydrating, refreshing and soothing teas straight from the garden and hedgerows. The combinations are endless and I keep discovering more things I can pick to make a delicious brew.
I am not giving you a recipe for garden tea here and that is deliberate, because here is the secret: we all have different tastes and needs, and usually as I walk past the plants they will give me a little nudge if my body wants them in the tea. What I crave on one day might be completely repelling to me the next, and that is a good thing. It makes sure we get the gentle benefit of each plant without overdosing or creating imbalance through using it repeatedly. So my only recipe recommendation is to trust your intuition and to make absolutely sure that what you pick is not poisonous! Another note of caution: always make sure you pick from unpolluted, untreated areas that resident dogs, cats, sheep, etc. don’t frequent.
Edible Leaves, Flowers and Fresh Herbs
The difference between before and after sprinkling edible flowers and herbs on food always amazes me. It really does make everything look so good, appetising and healthy. It’s also a lovely way to play with creativity and produce ephemeral works of art.
I am ridiculously fond of fresh herbs and tend to add copious amounts to whatever I eat. If you don’t like to eat fresh herbs, grow them anyway, as all of them produce wonderful flowers for your enjoyment and for the bees to visit. Oregano, sage, rosemary, chives, mint, thyme, parsley and dill are amongst my favourite herbs to pick fresh from the garden.
It’s hard to describe how overjoyed I was when I first discovered I could eat flowers. There is something so sacred and simple about picking those beautiful, sweet little faces and allowing them to adorn our food before respectfully eating them, allowing their unique fragrance and nectar-like taste to delight the senses. I am learning more about edible flowers every day, but the range of possibilities is delightfully dizzying! The ones I eat regularly are daisies, dandelions, speedwell, herb Robert, roses, carnations, dianthus, clovers and chives, because I encourage them all to grow in my garden, but I look forward to expanding the range. You can also eat nasturtium leaves and flowers, but I don’t like the taste, so I leave them all to the bees.
The same cautionary advice applies here as in the previous paragraphs about garden teas.
Sweet Summer Breeze
Ahhh, the delight of a sweet Summer breeze is so life-giving! Although I don’t see the Ocean from my windows, it is just a couple of miles away behind a few hills, so I get the benefits of an Ocean breeze most days, and each time it is like a fresh gift. Few things bring me such immediate peace and quiet delight as sniffing the sweet Summer air and letting it run through my hair and face. Even if I am too exhausted to enjoy it outside, I open all the windows wide to get an air flow and lie down to enjoy the healing touch of the wind on my face and allow it to blow the cobwebs.
It’s a wonderful treat to be outside on a windy day when the grass is tall and edged with pink as it flowers into delicate fronds, swaying gently like a green and pink ocean of feathery waves. Watching the Summer wind playing in the tall grass is a deeply hypnotic and rejuvenating sight, and I love those days when the wind shows the silver side of the leaves on trees, ballooning gently in the rocking movement of the full green branches.
Bees
I am so fond of the bees that my whole garden is designed to encourage them to visit. As the seasons unfold and various things flower, I move my seat around the garden to rest close to the flowers where they congregate. Watching and listening to the bees is one of my favourite things about Summer. Their gentle presence and focused activity is a balm to my soul and warms my heart like the gentle Spring sunshine.
Baby Birds
Isn’t that sweet, slightly befuddled face completely irresistible? Lots of swallows come to nest around here in early Summer, and it’s always a huge honour to find a nest and get a glimpse of the babies getting visibly bigger each day. As the weeks pass and the fledglings learn to fly, some very comical scenes unfold, such as some narrowly escaping an emergency landing in my cup of tea, or witnessing the flying lesson, as I described in a previous blog post (Allowing Nature to Heal Us).
Drizzle and Summer Rains
Warning! Unpopular opinion of an incorrigible pluviophile! I feel so deprived on those days when I can’t get out in the rain… but we do get plenty of opportunities on the West Coast of Scotland, enjoying some of the wettest Summers the British Isles have to offer. I don’t mean to be flippant, as I genuinely feel for people who work outside and have to contend with rain day after day, which is a real challenge and can be exhausting. But I very much enjoy being out in the rain and drizzle, each drop like a gentle kiss. Getting soaked always feels bracing and uplifting for me (as long as I can quickly dry and warm up afterwards) and did you know that rain water is amazing for the hair? Nature’s simplest and most effective conditioner.
Being in the Garden
Of course we can enjoy the garden in any season, but Summer makes it that bit easier, with longer hours, warmer temperatures and lots of exciting plants and creatures to admire and take care of. Many people spend a lot of time focused on garden maintenance and end up having no time to enjoy the results of their hard work, but I am the reverse. My garden is deliberately wild with minimal intervention, to match my capacities, and to encourage many species of pollinators and plants. So I spend most of my time just looking at them all, and that is a beautiful way to recharge and connect with nature.