It seems it’s my year for painting flowers and painting outdoors. I’ve been invited to take part in ‘The Wildflower Meadows Project’, a collaboration with a group of artists and poets, led by Richard Bavin , arborealist and watercolour artist, and Apple Store Gallery, Hereford.

The project is based at and inspired by Birches Farm, a Herefordshire Wildlife Trust reserve near Kington, made up of small wildflower meadows.

The meadows are packed with flowers, red clover, buttercups and orchids, topped with a pink haze from sorrel and grasses and a faint hum from the many insects drawn to the colourful fields.

At the weekend I spent five hours there, taking photos, sketching, painting and gathering ideas for pictures, ‘The Botanist’s dress’, ‘seasonal sketchbooks’, ‘lying in the grass viewpoints’…and lots more!

I had the 60 acre farm to myself, (apart from the birds, and a quiet deer) a beautiful peaceful and calming place. I decided that there was nowhere I would rather be on a sunny Saturday evening in midsummer and I can’t wait for my next visit!