Notes from the Garden 🌸June 25🌸Summer Solstice
Flaming June, Summer Solstice Celebrations and blooms galore
A very warm welcome to A Simple Living Journal. I am pleased you are here. Make yourself a drink and cosy up in your favourite chair.
My name is Debbie. I have been writing here on Substack since September 2023 sharing snippets of my life as I continue to explore what it means to live slowly and simply. If you are curious and want to learn more why not subscribe today?
I live in the heart of England, in a small village in the south of Leicestershire. I am wife to Anthony and cat mum to our seven year old black panther called Thomas. If you want to read more click HERE
Hello my friend.
Wow what a June it has been so far. We’re in the midst of a heatwave now, but thankfully we had some rain last week. Everywhere is lush and colourful. I know why they call it Blooming June now.
In early June the world of leaf and blade and flower explodes, and every sunset is different - John Steinbeck
We celebrated the Summer Solstice yesterday, June 21st.
English Heritage showed coverage of the Sunrise at Stonehenge over on YouTube. Check out the link below if you didn’t catch this yesterday.
The Summer Solstice gives us the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year. The Solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern).
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The name "Midsummer" mainly refers to Summer Solstice festivals of European origin.
The festival has roots in ancient pagan traditions, where it was a time to honour nature, fertility and the harvest. The name "Midsummer" refers to the midpoint of the growing season, historically seen as a time of abundance and good fortune.
Midsummer celebrations vary by area but common elements include:
Bonfires: Lighting bonfires is a common ritual, believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. Friends often gather around the fire to sing, dance, and celebrate.
Dancing and Feasting: People come together for outdoor feasts, enjoying seasonal food and drink. Dancing around a maypole is a popular activity, symbolising fertility and the joy of summer.
Flower Crowns: In many cultures, participants create flower crowns to wear during the festivities, symbolising beauty and the bounty of nature.
Photo by Christian Widell on Unsplash
Do you celebrate Midsummer, if so, how? I’d love to read about your rituals and traditions in the comments.
I’m writing this a few days before Midsummer has actually taken place so we haven’t made any plans yet. But one thing is for sure, we will be in the garden surrounded by an abundance of colour and scent from the flowers. I may attempt to make my first ever flower crown this year!
It’s been a while since we shared a stroll around the garden. June seems like the perfect month doesn’t it? Shall we go?
We had a lot of much needed rain in our area last week and now the heat and sun has returned. I believe it is set to stay for a while. Our gardens are thriving and treating us to the most glorious displays.
Birds are chirping their beautiful song and I can hear the gentle chatter from neighbouring gardens. The sky is a vivid blue with the sun disappearing round towards the front of the house, casting some much needed shade at the back, protecting us from the blistering heat.
I’m loving cream and apricot this year. These beautiful pinks and dahlia are making my dreams come true. Pinks have long been one of my favourite flowers along with roses. My nan had a bed of pinks in her garden which I adored. Every time I catch their intoxicating scent I am transported back to those long summer days spent playing in my nans garden with my cousins.
Don’t you just love fuchsias? With their graceful shape and variety of colours they are perfect in any garden.
My rambling rose (Generous Gardener from David Austin) has put on the most amazing display over the arch this year. I am in absolute awe of the riot of blooms there are and the scent is out of this world. The fragrance hits you the moment you step outside.
I’m going to do some cuttings from this rose this year as I want to add one to my front garden to grow along the trellis fence next year. I have never done cuttings before, so this will be first for me. How easy are rose cuttings? Any tips?
Geraniums are my mums favourite summer flowers. Before she got sick she grew them every year for as long as I can remember. I grow them now in memory of the many beautiful displays she lovingly created.
I first discovered the delicate flower of the astrantia outside a local zoo and I was dazzled by their display. I thought I had killed it this year 🙄 but it popped up out of nowhere a few weeks ago. So happy to see it flowering once again. I was almost going to empty its container and put a new plant in, so glad I left it!
Lupins are a new addition to my garden this year. Lupins are so representational of a traditional cottage garden that I am trying to replicate in my own garden. I love the dreaminess of a cottage garden, the textures, variable heights and delightful randomness that is characteristic of a cottage garden. In many ways my garden is taking on that form as it’s extremely random in its nature.
Thank you for taking this walk with me, I hope you enjoyed pottering amongst the flowers and revelling in their display and scent.
I’d love to hear what you are growing, what’s doing well, which are your favourites?
In case you missed it, I started my declutter series in March. A month by month gentle process of clearing our homes and minds. I would love you to join us on this journey of discovery in Slow and Gentle Decluttering.
Decluttering has been instrumental to us in finding a simple and slower path. Maybe it can for you too. Make sure you are subscribed so that you receive the next in the series on Sunday June 29th. We will be doing our bathrooms next.
If you enjoyed todays newsletter you may be interested in the following -
Until next time.
Debbie xx
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Your flowers are so so so beautiful ❤️ loved the stroll around your garden Debbie 🏡🦋🌸
I live in south Texas now and have had to relearn gardening. Most of what I grew in the northern US, was similar to your garden and I miss them, especially peonies, fuschias and bleeding hearts. We have orange and yellow Mexican Birds of Paradise, yellow trumpets of Esperanza, Crepe Myrtle’s (trees and shrubs) in purple, many shades of red and pink and also white, sages and salvias grow abundantly, in shades of red, pink and blue, jasmine vines, red passion flower vines, yellow butterfly vines and prolific hot pink Queen’s Wreath vines, reseeding annual Vinca in white, shades of pink and peach, muhley grass, with smokey purple plumes in autumn, lantana in oranges, hot pink with yellow and white, Turks cap, with tightly curled red flowers. I have some roses, but they take a lot of care and water- my autumn damask blooms pink in the spring and the scent is intoxicating and of course the Texas native wild flower bluebonnet (lupine) that I love. It blooms wild in pastures and hillsides and also has a splendid scent. There were some in our yard, and I have gathered seeds and spread them in my garden beds, they explode in the spring before everything else. I have a pot of geraniums and one of nasturtiums on my porch in the shade. With lots of water, it’s the only way I can grow them.