This morning so far. I woke early. I was in the garden soon after six, looking around. The first thing I do in the morning is check any tiny plants, and I am glad to say none had been eaten last night. I did have to have a word with a sparrow later. Sparrows rather like young beetroot leaves. But overnight all was well – my nightly slug patrol seems to be working.

Part of my morning ritual is selecting a few leaves for my morning tisane: today – peppermint, sweet cicely, herb robert, and pineapple mint. As I was collecting these leaves I noticed the asphodel. I have written about asphodel before, the plant that grows in Hades, according to Homer. It is magnificent at the moment. I bought one small plant four years ago and now have a stand that has 28 flower spikes. And there is more at the allotment, and I have given lots away. The general generosity of plants is something I love. That’s about quantity, and then there is the sheer beauty of them; today asphodel, tomorrow something else. And there are over a hundred different plants in my small garden. Sort of WOW!

I started writing this with the intention of telling you what I have done so far today in the garden. I will list a few more things: I’ve made a space for some peas to be sown, and then sown them and covered them with fleece to keep cats off, and those little sparrows when the shoots emerge. I’ve cleared another small space for beans, which I have not yet sown. And then I suddenly remembered that I needed to take some books to the charity shop before ten, so I did that, and then other non-gardening things took over.

I spoke to my daughter who told me that it is possible to make a thread from dandelion flower stalks. That seems exciting – yet another use for dandelions. Louise and I have been watching the dandelions (such an exotic name I can’t help repeating it!) We have been trying to work out the sequence of events from flower to seed head. It looks as if the flower blooms, them closes and goes through a transformation process before opening again to reveal the familiar clock, so perfect, before bowing to the wind and sending the fairies on their way. And now we know the remaining stalk can be dried and woven.

Someone asked me the other day what was my favourite flower. I said the single banksian rose, and told it’s story. Today it is asphodel, maybe tomorrow it will be dandelion.