We had a lovely lunch with friends in the garden one sunny Sunday afternoon, and decided to have a plate garden competition. We used anything we could find – sweet peas, nasturtiums, hollyhocks, mint, lavender, curry plant, grass, ivy, virginia creeper, blueberries, stones, sticks  – even firelighters & foil! Hanna’s plate was beautiful, with blueberries and even finely grated lime peel on the mint leaves. It was hard to judge who should win, as they were all so original & pretty. It was a great way the while away the hours in the sunshine.

Our bouquets now contain lavender & lemon mint, spearmint or garden mint. They smell wonderful!

A lady phoned a few days ago to ask what it was in her bouquet, and to tell us that she’sd been adding it to all her cooking during the week. She said everything tasted great. We identified it as lemon mint.

You can make lovely lavender shortbread with just lavender, flour, butter & sugar. It tastes great with ice-cream, or with a cup of tea.

 I’ve been picking herbs & foliage from the garden to add to our bouquets this week – rosemary, curry plant, lemon mint, spearmint, garden mint, rosemary, myrtle, lauristina and lavender.

Having given up the allotment, I’m quite pleased with my herb & vegetable collection which I have in pots on the patio. The purple sprouting broccoli plants are already too big for their container, & I’m wondering where to plant them out.

It seems to be a bad year for strawberries, but the raspberries are looking good, along with the blackcurrants. The plum tree is heavily laden with fruit.  I walk along the lane & collect cherry plums to make jam with.

We have a wasps’ nest in the loft, & bees nesting under the shed. Sean’s worried the wasps will become a nuiscance, but they just seem to be busy with the nest at the moment.

Let’s hope this gorgeous weather continues!

Why not send some beautiful flowers to someone? It’s the best gift on earth! When the situation dictates tact, when someone’s feeling fragile, when words can’t express the emotion – flowers are just the best.

Sean’s in hospital at the moment, and the wards don’t accept flowers anymore. many people don’t realise the the habits of plants & flowers – giving out oxygen during the day, but using it at night, Also, the build up of bacteria in the water if it’s not changed regularly, accelerated by heat.

I was happy to tell Sean today that his nasturtiums have started to flower, along with the sweet peas. Hopefully, when he comes home, his garden will be looking amazing. What a great time to recuperate.

We send flowers all over London, and you have the added bonus of a few flowers or foliage with great healing powers, grown in our own garden at this time of year. They smell absolutely gorgeous! Call us on 020 7831 6776, and we’ll talk you through what we have to offer, or place an order online through the website www.stemsfloraldesign.com  I think you’ll love our flowers!

 What beautiful weather we’ve had lately. We spend all weekend in the garden. The honeysuckle is climbing up the old laburnum tree, the aliums and lupins are beautiful, and there are masses of buds on the roses.

We now have flowers to use in bouquets at the shop, so our Stems signature bouquets and edible bouquets are on offer. Take advantage of the next few months, and send someone a bouquet – we deliver to Holborn, Mayfair, W1, Kensington, the City and all of central London.

One of my mother’s sayings was ” you reap what you sow”. There was always a pregnant pause after the comment. She was a wonderful, self-taught philosopher/psychologist/maverick. I cannot say that she came across as a warm person – unless she particularly warmed to the other person, and she would then reveal the full extent of what she had to offer to another human being. I remember her recounting chance meetings with strangers whilst sitting on a bench in Windsor Great Park, or on Castle Hill, and two hour long conversations, in which she found the utmost pleasure … people literally telling her their life story – and I’m sure my mother sharing her own experiences. I can still hear her deep exhalation of relief as she expressed how much she had enjoyed the day. This was her form of therapy – an honest one to one with a stranger – a chance to get it off her chest, to hear someone else’s highs & lows, and then walk away.

And yet the irony is that I don’t know if you do reap what you sow. I don’t think my mother did. She lived a few years of her young life with an aunt, because her father was away fighting during the First World War, and her mother had younger children to care for. It caused her the pain of rejection, and eventually, she didn’t want to return, but did so, and felt her reluctant role was to help with the five younger children.She spoke of two people, whom I have interpreted as being her role models. The first was her girl guides’ leader. She loved the strict regime, the smart uniform and the instruction. Apparently, this is where she learned left from right. I now realise how little she must have been taught in the way she needed until this point in time for her to have treasured this experience so much. The other was her poetry teacher – a passion she passed on to me.

Having lost her husband at fifty,outliving two sons, and still managing to be a wonderful mother to me – the youngest child, I can’t see how she reaped what she sowed.

 ”And then my heart with pleasure fills,and dances with the daffodils”  William Wordsworth

  Looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend, and hoping the sun shines. Jan and  I spent wednesday at the hospital, as I’m undergoing tests and will have major surgery very soon. It has been a big shock to take it all in as it has all been happening  so quickly. It was a long day, but we met so many great people, and managed to have a good laugh, despite the circumstances.  Jan’s promised to take over some of my gardening tasks till I’m back to my normal healthy self . Jan will keep you all posted on how the operation went, please God, everything will be fine. Talk to you all soon. Lots of love, Sean. xxx  I have taken a few pictures of  my lupins and pansies –  hope you like them.

Hi everyone,

started the day at Homebase, buying charcoal, tomato & lettuce plants, big pots & compost. It was packed with people by 9.30am.,  in anticipation of a beautiful, sunny day.

Jan & I put the new barbecue together. It took two hours!! Not our forte! We only lost one screw permanently in the grass, so not too bad. We also bought a paddling pool & electric pump, but after the long session with the barbecue, we’re waiting till tomorrow with the pool.

We planted dwarf runner beans, cucumber & tomatoes in two big pots, hung trailing tomatoes & strawberries from the tree and put some lettuces in the back border, hoping not to attract rabbits. Our herbs are coming on well, as are the sweet peas. The mint border looks amazing – mint tea & cake in the garden tomorrow afternoon.

We also managed to give the dogs a bath today. Rolo hid under the bed as soon as he heard the bathwater running. Decided to give him first bath. He stopped sulking more quickly than usual, which I think was down to getting his own sunbed, complete with beach towel in the lovely garden sunshine. Monty was less upset – just doesn’t like getting his face wet. He loves swimming in the river, retrieving sticks, but always holds his head above water level, and doesn’t attempt breaststroke or front crawl – only doggy paddle!

Rounded off the day with chicken, sausages & vegetable skewers on the new barbecue – delicious. Monty & Rolo enjoyed their sausages. That’s what you call a good start to summer.

People often say they wish they could see the flowers that will be delivered to friends and colleagues. So why not send a summer bouquet to someone & make their day. We have beautiful summer flowers, including coolwater & aqua roses, aliums, hydrangea, stargazer lilies and lisianthus plus many other flowers, and we’ll deliver from our shop in Sicilian Avenue.

You can look on the website, visit the shop in person, send flowers online  or simply ring us on 020 7831 6776. We can deliver same day.

Really pleased with the flowers for the Soap Awards. We used gold sprayed cymbidium orchids, anthuriums crocosmia & leaves with Grand prix roses. The star dressing rooms had pink & purple summery flowers or whites & lime greens, including the fabulous new “green eye” ranunculus rose!

It was held at the London Studios, with fabulous views of the Thames.