Most people associate bulbs with spring and that is not surprising. Just look how popular the likes of daffodil and crocus are. And these are well known spring flowers. But just because its summer it doesn’t mean you cant grow bulbs that flower now.

There is a vast array of summer flowering bulbs to choose from all adding shape, texture and colour to your borders, beds, window boxes and tubs. They come in all different sizes, colours and some are even fragrant. Most look their best if planted in groups rather than on their own. For the most dramatic effect plant the same species bulbs in a group rather than in mixed types. There is no beating a group of Crocosmia or a group of Tigridia flowering their heads off in a summer bed.

Some summer flowering bulbs will start flowering in spring and continue through into summer.

Others flower in summer and continue through into autumn. And, yet, others flower in summer and will flower right through autumn and into winter. And then there are those that just flower in the summer months. So chosen with care you can have flowering bulbs all year round. Now that’s what’s needed, flowers all year round.

Most are easy to grow and most are real easy to propagate so you can increase your summer flowering stock easy and at no cost. But the pure brilliant flowers and attractive foliage of summer flowering bulbs are worth the little effort required to grow them. They mix well with annuals, biennials and perennials in mixed beds and borders, so overall they are well worth growing.

All manner of teas, including the specialty flowering tea (also known as blooming tea), add up to being the most commonly drunk beverage across the world. Indeed in some countries, like Asian countries, it is a strong and inherent part of the culture, ensuring the experience of tea will always be varied and interesting no matter where you are in the world.

In China and Japan many different types of tea are drunk and each kind is often prepared delicately to almost ritualistic perfection.

India is known for its stronger teas that have for so long found themselves on supermarket shelves in the Western world.

Britain is a nation of tea drinkers. Just about any Brit you meet will certainly know how a cup of tea should be made and will encourage a strong tea that is full of flavor.

Some though, would prefer the much more gentle taste of flowering tea or flowers tea.

With this in mind, there may not always be one correct way to make a cup of tea although each different tea has a set of guidelines to help you keep on the right track.

When it comes to the dark teas of India, that the British tend to favour, the emphasis is on making a strong brew. When making a pot of black tea, it is important to use water that is as hot as possible to allow as much flavour as possible is extracted from the leaves. It should be brewed for two minutes in a teapot and should result in a pleasing dark brown colour when poured. Ideally the leaves should be removed after the first brewing to preserve the lovely taste.

Because of the strong bitter taste (often a result of over brewing) of black tea, many drinkers choose to add milk or sugar, although some will say that nothing at all should be added to black tea. Black tea is known for its invigorating properties and its refreshing nature, whether it is a cold winter’s night or a hot summer’s day. Read the rest of this entry »