Celebrating floral favourites

Once affectionately called an English Rose and with a cottage climbing with the beauties, I’d probably go for the wonderful rose. But it’s a tough call when nature offers us beauty in abundance.

Lockdown has made me love my garden more than ever and I’m sure that’s been the case for many of us.

Faithfully watering the pot plants each day and nurturing seedlings has given my days a sense of rhythm that during the uncertainty of lockdown has proved precious.

I’ve learned what I’m good at - tomatoes (sooo easy!) and what I’m less productive at - sorry shrunken sunflowers that were positioned badly!

But as fantastic as growing your own veg is, it’s flowers that bring me the most joy. My home is filled with blooming orchids and so many vases of fresh flowers that my partner occasionally frowns and asks if he’s living in a florists.

Their unique and ephemeral beauty, in reality makes the question quite impossible to answer. Surely it’s like a parent being asked their favourite child (criminal!).

The truth is they’re all my favourite, from the delicate daisy blowing in the breeze to the billowing rose, climbing the walls of my cottage. When those beauties are in bloom, I feel incredibly lucky to call the Cotswolds countryside home.