It's hot and sunny outside and because of antibiotics I have to shield myself from the sun. I am a lot more indoors than I like to but I still am nourishing myself with nature. These are flowers I have grown from seed. I picked them today as a birthdaygift for a friend.

I have similar flowers on our dining table. And I treasure them. When I seeded them indoors in early spring I was quite emotional: so grateful that I had survived cancer and yet also a bit anxious would I not seed the flowers for my own coffin? The plants have grown through a harsh spring and are now in my garden. 2 weeks ago I cut some beautiful flowers for my mother-in-law. She was dying at 88 yrs. She was a closed woman, who had quit isolated herself in her last years. But there was one thing we both loved: nature. She lived alone among farmland and would always tell us about the hare, birds or deer she had seen. And she loved flowers, especially those from the garden. She died peacefully in hospital. She is buried in an old forest next to my father in law. We gave her body back to nature.

I now have a beautiful vase from her house filled with flowers from our garden. There is no better way to remember her. And each time I look at the flowers, my heart lifts for all the beautiful shapes and colours. And I feel grateful that I live to enjoy them.