Although the azaleas and most of the rhododendrons have now been and gone, there is still much to recommend a walk up through the Azalea Garden and the Maple Grove – not least the deep green shade, so inviting as the sun beats down and temperatures soar. Whilst it tends to be the flowers that steal the show at this time of year – and understandably so – the extensive range of exotic trees are well worth a careful look. These too bear flowers, often very small, but sometimes eye-catching like the numerous varieties of Cornus near the Millenium Bench. These are floriferous at the moment, bearing stunning white flowers with some varieties gradually shading to pink with time.

Closer to the Croft, there are many further delights. You are likely to catch the delicate scent of one of the very many Philadelphus shrubs, such as Philadelphus maculatus pictured below. Lilies in pots on the Croquet Lawn exude a headier scent – and look out too for some unusual varieties on the Boundary Path, such as Lily martagon ‘Claude Shride’, the deep purplish-red flower pictured below.

The herbaceous border in the Kitchen Garden continues to delight: the blue delphiniums (pictured below) are especially striking. Nearby, the artichokes have reached ever dizzier heights: we’re eating as many of these as we can but are losing the battle – not that it matters, as in time the artichokes will give rise to large blue flowers, which seem to be becoming something of a theme! Although the older varieties have had their moment, other roses throughout this part of the garden are still putting on quite a display and many of them are also wonderfully fragrant, as are the lavender beds. Regular visitors will notice that we are working on extending the colour in this part of the Gardens with recent plantings of clematis, such as Clematis ‘Blue Angel’ pictured below: she looks white but in fact has a very attractive (celestial?) blueish tinge.