I have lived near the river Wear most of my life. I have been lucky a few times to see a flash of colour as a Kingfisher has flown by. I spent many hours of my childhood often doing all the things you are not supposed to nowadays - swimming in the river, climbing on the outside of the bridges, exploring miles of river bank with no one knowing exactly where I was. The one smell I love to bring all these memories back is the Himalayan Balsam, to me it is evocative of summer holidays spent by the river. It may be an invasive species but it will always have a place in my heart.

I am not much of a gardener but at this time of year it does not seem to matter as I can always rely on the bulbs to do their job. every year. While most of the other flowers I spend a fortune on at the garden shows fail to show their faces ever again.

A few months ago I googled my name (as you do) & I came across someone selling one of my jugs from the 90's as "Vintage Jenny Bell". Well these rose paintings reminded me of that as I think they look quite vintage too & they work lovely on our new soap dispenser & toothbrush sets.