The sweet smell of summer

The garden is gorgeous at the moment. Everything is blooming and there are so many scents as soon as you step outside – sweet peas, jasmine, roses, and chocolate cosmos. We did have one solitary peony last month, which didn’t smell of much when outside, but was very scented after I cut it for a little vase arrangement, along with a few pink garden roses. I don’t know what any of the varieties are, but they lasted well in a vase.

Here are the sweet peas two weeks ago.

And here they are today. I’ve cut some for a vase and they smell amazing. 

Sarah Raven includes a sweet pea  'wigwam' in her plans for summer flowers in The Cutting Garden, and also recommends particular varieties. As it's my first attempt, I bought a multi-pack from Suttons Seeds. I'm growing Noel Sutton and Mrs R Bolton, which are purple and pink respectively. Next year I'm going to grow the remaining colours in the pack: red Air Warden, burgundy Beaujolais, and White Ensign.

Here are the first jasmine flowers which emerged this week; the foliage has been gracing the garden for a month.

Some scented peach and cerise roses:

There are three pink hydrangeas dotted around.

I didn’t have much luck growing dahlias, but this one has flowered.

And last of all, my new David Austin rose plant – Cariad, which means ‘love’ in Welsh. It’s stunning and very sweetly scented. The perfect symbol of the many happy years I spent in Swansea and the Welsh friends who I‘ve kept in touch with!