The mad rush to catch up in the garden at the end of May was immediately followed by the mad rush in early June to catch the Elderflower at its sunny best.

After this year’s whopping 4kg of wild garlic pesto making, we made half our normal Elderflower Champagne brew at just six litres (this is partly because I’m going to try my hand at an IPA soon – watch this space!) and another batch of Elderflower Cordial, which we tried for the first time last year and which has proved a year long hit especially with our younger visitors at The Secret Acre.

We were also rewarded by the first water lily flower of the year, almost as soon as we cleared some of the choking grass which had invaded the pond, and Emma’s self-seeded Calendula have burst into flower too.