One of my favourite local nature reserves is a tiny hidden gem. It’s not immediately apparent from the road, so you have to know it’s there to know it’s there, and most of the times that I’ve visited I’ve found myself alone and in perfect and peaceful solitude. It’s an old orchard, with twisted, ancient, lichen-encrusted trees from which the most beautifully delicate apple blossoms sprout, in every shade of soft, blushed pink. It’s abuzz with bees and other pollinators and carpeted with drifts of forget-me-nots. Behind the trees there’s a meadow and then a small patch of woodland, which in the springtime is pungent with the smell of the wild garlic growing abundantly under the greening trees and it is home to a large and complex badger sett.
Come and wander along the meandering green pathways with me, mind your head on the overhanging branches. We’ll walk quietly, listening to the bird song and the drone of the bees and when we’re hungry we’ll stop for a picnic lunch at the little bench by the pond, where we’ll watch the ducks squabble over pond weed and breathe deeply the softly fragrant breeze.
Tewin Orchard, early May 2023
little cotton rabbits 
Absolutely lovely – including your poetic invitation, I’m with you
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What absolutely gorgeous pictures! I can almost smell those blossoms! Thank you!
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Hallo meine Liebe,
es könnte unser Garten sein. Genau diese Motive,
Apfelblüte und Maikrautblüte, habe ich gestern auch fotografiert.
Wir beide sind uns wohl sehr ähnlich.
Ganz herzliche Grüße
Inge
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Love your photos, wish I was there to pluck those bear leeks!
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Julie, thank you for the lovely invitation to join you in the beautiful orchard. So poetic & such beautiful photos.
Many thanks again, I just love to get your emails.
Anne
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Sublime. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful walk with us, Julie. The natural world is so pretty and your photos capture it in all its glory. I hope you had a restorative walk with time to think.
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Lovely. Enjoying peaceful outdoor time alone whenever I can, watching May bloom. Quiet outdoor time always soothes my soul.
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Your photos are balm for the soul Julie. May is my very favourite month – just wish we had a Pause button to press, it’s over so quickly! The many different colours of green and the freshness in the air – all conducive to a feeling of calm. Just back from a few days in N Wales and the hedgerows were awash with cow parsley and hawthorn blossom – divine!
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Totally idyllic – I can imagine the birdsong and tranquility of this beautiful little haven. Thank you Julie for posting.
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I’d love to wander there with you Julie … stunning pics, isn’t apple blossom just the most amazing thing!
V x
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Julie,
Thank you so much for this lovely post at exactly the time that I needed it.
A little solitude with nature, or a quiet trundle with a like minded, similar
spirited friend was just what I was crying out for.
I will return here when I need that peace.
Thank you 🙂
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What absolutely lovely photos- the apple blossoms are so pretty and I love the tiny blue forget me nots. Thanks for sharing! 😊
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Wow, my favourite flowers (Forget-me-nots), plants (wild garlic) and a badger sett (I’m a badger lover). This is just like heaven. I can almot hear the humming of bees. Thank you for this post and for these beautiful pictures ❤
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Beautiful. Just the photographs made me pause and take a deep breath. Thank you
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Though we’ve never met, our souls touch by means of your glorious photos, and beautiful spirit in written form.
“Thank you” is not enough.
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Beautiful photos as always Julie.
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I couldn’t agree more with everyone’s response to The Orchard in May. This year excels itself with wild blossom in abundance – the bluebells, forget-me-nots, cow parsley and, wow, the hawthorne blossom! Thank you Julie for putting into such succinct words the thoughts of many of us in this sometimes chaotic world!
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With your descriptive prose, we were already with you! Love your photos Julie! All the best to you.
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Oh how beautiful. I really enjoyed being in the orchard, smelling the blossoms and listening to the buzzing of the bees. I love and enjoy your photos out and about in the English countryside. They bring back such happy memories of when I visited my grandparents in Dorset as a child some sixty years ago.
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So peaceful and beautiful. The forget me nots ares so pretty.
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All that apple blossom is beautiful to see. How wonderful to have such a lovely place close to you to visit.
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Stunning Photos Julie.
Bought back beautiful memories of a lovely 2 days with you!!!
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Just beautiful – love it!
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I truly feel as though I’m walking the orchard with you, Julie–what a wonderful respite!!! I never tire of your emails. Hugs, Maire in NY
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