Dozing in the Tulips

Well, it's that time of year. The daffodils are having their last hurrah and are being replaced by the warm sunny dandelions and forget-me-knots. I feel like we're all stepping out of hibernation, rubbing our eyes as the sunny rays shine down.

Recently I spent a few days in London and visited the Royal Botanical Gardens or 'Kew' for the first time. It's a stunning park, complete with a treetop walkway, several huge glasshouses, a lake and many beautiful flower beds. There was so much to see and you could tell how much care has been given from the choice of flower colours to the careful maintenance of the ridiculously huge palms.

We particularly enjoyed all of the different rooms (10 in total) in the most modern glasshouse 'Princes of Wales Conservatory', moving through to the temperate and tropical, pretending we were in the rainforest.

After a few thousands steps we jump back onto the tube and head into the centre. Immediately out of Embankment station we find another perfectly planted bed of brightly coloured tulips, calling to us. I get my mini paints out whilst my partner takes a snooze on the grass.

This visit to the Kew inspired me to revisit a pencil drawing of a garden which belongs to a good friend of mine.  I love sitting in this garden and in contrast to the uniformed flower beds at the Botanics I watch the long grass sway, noticing the wild flowers popping out as well as the organised food growing. Now you can enjoy this delight as I've made this drawing into a greeting card. For all of those gardening lovers out there!