Under a hot sun ...

A giant redwood - one of the lesser ones in the garden - and the red drops of colour of a dark-leaved rhododendron, all under a bright blue sky. The air is still and warm, and the car thermometer has just told me it's 28ºC. Even the scents of the plants and trees have changed, so that they seem somehow exotic. 

Benmore Gardens was a haven of green away from the hard light of a hot afternoon, but even there we felt the heat beating from the pale paths. And now it's well past midnight, and we've just walked along the lane from dinner with friends and had our whole way lit by an incredible full moon. And it is definitely time for bed ...