Hello, lovely person!

July jollies for you include; wonderful watering, figgy fragrance, (more) Scandi sweetness, bouncing bees, and bunking off for the afternoon.

Gardening tips for July

Watering is possibly the least sexy gardening topic, apart from maybe slug control. But it’s incredibly important in these hot and sunny days. Broad canopies of summer foliage act as umbrellas, which scatter any rain away from where it’s most needed—at the roots of your plants.

If the trees, shrubs and perennials in your garden have been planted in the ground for over a year, they’ll probably be fine. But if you’ve new little plant babies, or grow in containers, they’ll all need regular soaking. A good drenching every few days is much, much better than waving a hose over them for a few seconds every day. Aiming water at the base of a plant will help the rootball absorb the precious moisture effectively.

Fancy a wee hand with some gorgeous and low maintenance planting inspiration? How about booking a garden chat with me?

Fragrant musings from the library of scent: Isleta by D:SOL Perfumes

A cliff top garden. Weathered, crumbling stones tumble into sunbleached grass. Venerable fig trees stoop, leaning over the ancient walls and whispering secrets to the supple stemmed herbs sheltering from the gentle breeze.

Steep steps carved into the cliffside plunge towards the indigo sea, passing a shallow tide-washed pool warming in the sliding sun.

Moored in the bay, a weathered wood diving platform gleams in the evening light. Bobbing and lifting in the tranquil rhythm of rippling waves. Casually tossed aside, a worn linen shirt spangled with droplets of brine slowly dries in the tender heat.

TOP: Bergamot, Bee Balm, Green Mandarin, Juniper Leaf
HEART: Clary Sage, Jasmine Sambac, Fig, White Tea
BASE: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Amyris, Cabreuva Wood

💚

This marvellous perfume has been boosting my mood on the all-too-frequent days when I’ve been feeling frazzled and overwhelmed by the state of the world.

What’s one of your favourite scents of this summer?

Nature notes for July

Violet spires of lavender, indigo lances of agastache, spearing the sky with their tips…

until a plump and fuzzy and stripy bumblebee lands on a succulent flower,

boing

boing

boing

bends the groaning stem into an arc, eats its fill,

then is launched like a bundle of fluff from a trebuchet into the trembling air

Summer sweet treats: Semlor

My birthday’s in July. And this year, someone very kindly asked me what I’d like them to bake as a birthday cake. Without any hesitation at all, I requested - very unseasonally - semlor.

Now, semlor are traditionally eaten in Sweden in the run up to Lent, much as we have Pancake Day here in the UK. But I tasted them for the first time earlier this year, and am completely smitten.

Soft, cardamom scented brioche-like dough, stuffed with golden nuggets of marzipan and pillowy whipped cream.

For accuracy, I should point out that one bun is semla. Two or more is semlor. But who can stop at eating just one, especially when they’re spankingly freshly baked?

Wellbeing tip

Bunk off for the afternoon

What do you do when your head is full of the millions of things you should be working on, but you’re super stressed about the burning world in which we’re living?

If you’re at all like me, you might feel tempted to keep your nose firmly to the grindstone and grimace through the pain. Because bearing witness to what we’re seeing is painful, isn’t it? So while it might feel selfish and uncaring (or is that just me?) to take a few hours off to regain some equilibrium, it’s incredibly important to make time to do just that.

And it needn’t be an expensive outing. Just somewhere a bit different, away from your work and other commitments. Alone or with great company, it’s up to you.

Where could you go?

On the blog and LinkedIn:

Can I help you with words or gardens?

How to surround yourself with the scent of roses

The simplest way to eco boost your garden

As ever, all wibbly words and photos are by me, Rowan Ambrose. The glorious perfume mentioned was paid for by me too. Thanks for spending this time with me—I really appreciate it.