Beautiful flowers, glorious weather and good company . . .

Beautiful flowers, glorious weather and good company . . . all the ingredients for a blissful day out yesterday at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

It's a few years since I've been to this flower show so jumped at the chance to go by coach on yet another 'works' outing' (courtesy of Number One Son).

The journey up by coach is only about half an hour if the traffic is light and we probably made it in about 45 minutes. It was not only an opportunity to see all the beautiful plants and wander around the gardening accessories stands but a great chance to spend some time with a good friend catching up on all the news and generally 'putting the world to rights'. A great 'girlie' day out.

Rather than join the queues inside for our first coffee stop of the day, we decided to have a coffee in East Molesey and found a lovely little coffee shop with a leafy garden. It was still very busy but quite delightful.

We also took advantage of the boat trip up to the actual entrance to the Flower Show. A perfect way to travel and it made the day even more enjoyable.

We managed to find a shady spot under a tree to have a bite of lunch and do some 'people watching'. Water is so cooling, isn't it, even if you're just looking at it rather than splashing around in it?

We wandered around 'oohing' and ' aahing' at all the goodies on sale and stopping each other from breaking the bank. I think I was very restrained and managed to come home with just a couple of purchases - this lovely dahlia - called 'Happy Wink' - I think I was as much taken by the name as the beautiful colour of the plant! Secondly, this lovely étagère which I plan to use to put pots of herbs on near the kitchen door. Mind you, I might change my mind and use it for pots of colourful bedding, depending on my mood.

So, a great day out and much to be recommended for anyone who enjoys gardening, or even just enjoys a day out in the sunshine in glorious surroundings.