Chelsea Flower Show this week, BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day today (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03w44yl) on the valuable role of the gardener, Summer BBQs, beautiful sunshine...we English love our gardens!

我曾经周游世界各地，但是在我的心里，没有任何地方的色彩，可以与英国夏季乡村那郁郁葱葱的绿色媲美。在这片绿色里，溅落在灌木从中的白色接骨木花，绽放在树篱上的紫丁香，田野里那耀眼的金色小麦，都给整个乡村增添了更加活跃奔放的色彩。

在这其中，乡间的花园，却别有一番景色。

英国人，为了给我们短暂的冬季中最枯燥和暗沉的时光增添色彩，选择在各自的花园中，植下一片特有的景色。他们对植物和花草的种类和色彩搭配都格外小心，更是关注开花的季节，因为大家都要让夏天伴随更多的乐趣而来临。

我们会种植果树和熏衣草，吸引小动物来探索，为花园增加声气；我们享受蜜蜂和蝴蝶在自家花园中翩翩起舞的样子。如果我们需要甜蜜清淡的香气，就会种植茉莉花，西番莲或者是美丽的玫瑰花。

如果我们喜欢，我们还会种植一些香料草，在厨房忙碌晚餐的时候，可以随时到窗台或者花园剪下一束鼠尾草，抓下一小把茴香和香葱，或者揽下一缕罗勒和薄荷叶，或者是来点洋甘菊。。。这些香料大多都散发着苦甜参半的味道。

有趣的是，只要你有一小块土地，你就可以大胆的种植以上提到的任何一种或几种。果树可以沿着篱笆种植，犹如划出一道围墙。香料草可以种植在小花盆里或者小罐子里，只能生长一季的则种在挂篮里，挂在房子外面的墙上。砂石的不同花样，花园里的小路，草丛，草地里争奇斗艳的野花，一小块菜地，草坪，鸟池，喂鸟篮，都是英式花园的特点，也使得英式花园种类繁多。

在这些花园里，很多美丽且罕见的植物，都是起源于中国和日本。19世纪的植物收集者，将一些种子带回英国，这些人包括George Forest 和 Ernest Wilson. 由于这些植物的神秘性和它们所代表的异域风情，它们很快得到大家的青睐。其中有一些花来自中国的云南，像紫藤花，帝王百合，血皮枫，小木通和杜鹃花。

中国，与我的生活如此息息相关，当我发现原来身边早已生长着来自中国的植物时，我非常震惊。我大胆的认识到，这种植物传播是积极的全球化的最初形式，通过传播一个国家的植被开始，提高其他国家人民的生活质量。

当然，花园需要时间和精力来维护。除草，挖土，种植，割草，修剪篱笆，像理发师一样修剪草坪，让草坪看起来更光洁。五月到十月期间，为了保持整洁，每两周就要修剪一次。最辛苦的是在寂寞的冬季，当土地进入冬眠期，外面湿冷的空气真的另人很难受。

现在的生活节奏这么快，我真的很怀疑有多少下一代人愿意在建造和维护花园上花时间。也许虚拟的花园和虚拟的朋友圈就能给他们带来足够的快乐。

但是，在夏季的夜晚，当太阳在晚上10点依旧持续散发温暖的时候，与家人和朋友喝上一杯红酒，在花园就餐，享受这美丽恬静的夜晚，还有你辛勤劳动的成果，真的会让你感到十分满足。

I have travelled extensively overseas and in my humble opinion there is no colour anywhere else to match the lush and verdant greens across the English countryside in the summertime. Add to that the splashes of colour from the white Elderflower bush and purple from the lilac tree growing in the hedges and the golden wheat of the fields and you find a stunning backdrop for the privacy of the English country garden.*

Designed to bring colour and hope during the darkest and dullest of our short, winter days as well as pleasure to enjoy in the summer, we English consider the variety and colour of flora in our gardens and the timing of their flowering very carefully. 

Designed to attract wildlife into our human habitat we plant fruit trees and lavender so that we can enjoy the pleasure of watching the bees and the butterflies flutter past.

Designed to bring sweet and delicate scent we might plant jasmine or Passion flower and roses.

And we like, if we can, to plant herbs for their practical culinary use as well as for the pleasing and bitter-sweet scent of basil and mint, chamomile and sage, fennel and chive.

Interestingly, all this can be achieved in a surprisingly small patch of ground. Fruit trees can be espaliered along a fence like washing stretched out on the line; herbs in plant pots and annuals (that flower for only one season) in hanging baskets from the external wall of the house. Gravel patterns, pathways, tall grasses, wild meadow flowers, vegetable patch, grass lawn, bird baths, bird feeders all add to the character and varied dimension of the English country garden.

Many of the common and beautiful plants and flowers of the English garden emanate from China and Japan. Samples brought back by plant hunters of the 19th century, including George Forrest and Ernest Wilson, because of their mystique and exotic nature soon became highly prized. Wisteria （紫藤花）the regal lily （富豪百合）, acer griseum （血皮枫）clematis （小木通）rhododendron （杜鹃） to name but a few came from Yunnan. 

When China plays such a part in my life I find it thrilling that so much of her nature grows alongside ours and I dare to suggest that this plant propagation was an early form of positive globalisation - relationship building blocks between China and the UK, that is, the spreading of things that add value to people living in other countries.

Of course, gardens require time and energy to maintain; weeding, digging, planting, mowing, hedge trimming, edging of the lawn to get that clean cut look like as if the barber has just been, and the bi-weekly mowing from May-October to give the optimum look. And much of the hard work has to be done in solitude in the winter months when the earth lies dormant and it is likely to be cold and wet and frankly miserable to be outside.

With lives so busy I wonder how much time future generations will be bothered with shaping and creating gardens? Perhaps a virtual garden with virtual friends will provide pleasure enough...

But on a beautiful summer's evening when the sun is still warm and it is still light till gone 10pm, there is so much pleasure to be had from drinking a glass of wine and eating 'Al fresco' with friends and family and enjoying the peace and beauty of your hard work! Little beats it for me - but then I am easy to please.