Once again this year the azaleas of the Isabella Plantation, the botanical garden in the middle of Richmond Park, have all come out at once. In previous years they tactfully staggered their weeks of blooming so that different bits of the park came to life at different times, but last year and this year the azaleas co-ordinated in a blaze of glory (see photo).

It’s almost like not being in England at all. Surrounded by this sea of colour, it’s as if you’ve wandered into some Mediterranean paradise, or at least onto the set of an exotic opera. And yet the scene is silent. Visitors tend to keep quiet as they take it in.

We found a seat amongst the bushes, fashioned from an old tree stump. A little plaque explained it was there in memory of Wally Miller, head gardener when the azaleas were planted a few decades ago. What a genius!