Flaming June has arrived. With its intense tropical heat and sudden summer downpours, the yellows and blues of the spring have given way to the more vibrant reds and oranges. The flaring poppies and flamboyant roses have arrived.

Around these parts, there is a local hybrid poppy which is self-seeded and very delicate. It’s not ‘flaming’ but it has a purplish-pink hue that compliments the ubiquitous erigerons that fill most of the underspaces around the flaming blooms.

Also self-seeded and growing wild are sage and foxgloves which are prolific in our weather.

The excitement of seeing what has burst into life is one of the great pleasures of gardening but there is a sadness too. The Japanese call it mono no aware – being sensitive to the transience of things. All this will soon be gone as the summer solstice has already passed and the days will start to get shorter again. Enjoying the moment is enough, especially down by the water waiting for the tide. In six hours all this that you see will be covered with water, a cycle that is repeated twice a day – mono no aware.