The accidental traveller

Monday 10th Aug 2026

“Stop!”  

Mr T pointed towards the window. I stopped talking almost at once which was very difficult for me because I am sure that I was saying something very important. But he was insistent.

“Look.”

I looked and sure enough this was more important than what I was saying because there was a raindrop on the window. We have not seen a raindrop for many weeks and more important neither has our garden. It is so rare in fact that people on social media report “It’s raining here!” And my first instinct is to ask them where they are so I can go and share this phenomenon.

Now here we were with our own rain. Our excitement soon faded, however, because although there were one or two more drops, they soon stopped and the sun came out again.

Our garden like so many others is decidedly pale, wilting and dead but I went to see a friend the other day and his small front garden was full of colourful flowers. Admittedly it was edged by walls giving deep shade and it was mostly pots and baskets, but it was a great surprise to see such vibrant colour. They use every drop of recycled water they can on this tiny flower jewel of a corner in their lives.

Flowers are I short supply this summer. Nearly all ours have gone over very quickly withering on their dry stems. But one unexpected flower is blooming. About twenty years ago I went to say goodbye to a friend, Suzanne, who was moving house. I admired her flower garden. She dug a plant up for me. It had bright yellow flowers. We planted it in our cottage garden, but it never looked as good as it did at hers and eventually died off. But like a miracle here it is again in our new garden. Suddenly tens of bright yellow daisy-like blooms are flourishing in the sunshine. ‘Suzanne’ is a mystery and we think it must have come in the soil with our special tree that we brought with us from the cottage. What a treat in these arid times.

Garden Centres must be having a hard time in these heat waves. How do they keep their pot plants going and are people risking buying plants when it is so hot? Well, my friends seem to be going to buy a bit of colour to tide them over to the next season. It is as if autumn has arrived already and some trees are dropping their desiccated leaves in dry desperation.

Harvest is well under way. My farmer cousin has never harvested so early, but it is a good crop, he says, thanks to the spring rain.