It all started with a surprise head of broccoli….

It has been a long and extraordinarily wet winter and spring but some plants seem to have outdone themselves whilst I was inside by the fire. Yesterday, between showers, I went to a corner of the garden to check on some purple sprouting broccoli I planted months ago and I found a head of the most gorgeous broccoli I have ever seen, and not a sprouting broccoli in sight!

I moved on to the rainbow chard and picked as many leaves as would fit in my biggest basket.

I stripped off all the stems, oooh-ing and aaahh-ing over the crisp, wet leaves, the brilliant colours of the stems and the total lack of snail holes. Everything was chilled and glistening from the rain. Imagine how healthy I felt eating that!

Then this afternoon I went again to see the beautiful, purple broccoli head, this time taking my camera. Then I continued on around my garden in some rare rays of late afternoon sunshine, capturing the glory of a spring which has appeared despite all the rain…..