Best summer reads 2015 - win £500 of books!

going for long walks with my girls

My favourite thing about Summer is being able to shed some layers of clothes, turn off the heating and have some cool drinks whilst relaxing, - instead of wearing 2 or 3 thick jumpers ( which don't do anything for the figure!) heating on full, stoking up the log burner every couple of hours and drinking lots of mugs of hot tea and soup! Now waiting for the school holidays when I can take the grandchildren out for days, spoil them to bits, and then go on holiday with all the family (10 of us) as we do each year. It's not where you go on holiday but who you go with that makes the Summer so special.

After 30 years' really hard work the rubble-tip I inherited is now a gorgeous, rampant, scent-filled flower-and-produce Permaculture garden & for the first time I can sit in it & relax with friends, family & young grandchildren this Summer!

The smell of the freshly-cut grass as someone else cuts my front lawn for me. A splendid set of books for someone.

My favourite thing about summer is the conviviality it produces in people: passers-by greet each other and sometimes stop and chat; people sit outdoors and share their enjoyment of nature's abundance. Sunshine lifts the spirits and we are all the richer for it.

I love going to the seaside and feeling the sun on my face and smelling the fresh salty air. Walking hand in hand with my hubby along the beach, feeling as though I don't have a care in the world x

My favourite thing about summer is the way people seem much friendlier - a bit of sunshine brings the smiles out!

The best part of summer is being able to walk out into my garden and pick fresh vegetables. Nothing tastes better than a just picked tomato that is still warm from the sun.

Ooh so many things... what I really love is listening to a blackbird singing on a warm and balmy Summer's evening whilst lying in the hammock, sipping chilled champagne and eating strawberries and cream. Happy sigh.

We lived for years in the almost perfect family house but it was on a hill and so the garden was down steps. When we downsized I was determined that I wanted to see the garden from the kitchen and therefore be able to step out with food, drink etc. So that's my idea of a perfect summer day - reading in the garden with a glass of chilled wine in hand if the time is right! Friends and family are welcome too!

The long nights sitting in my summerhouse, listening to the sound of the sea and watching the last light fade. It's beautiful even when it rains...but then, this is Cornwall, also known as paradise.

Sitting in a beautiful garden that you have planned and worked on.

Long, warm summer days which enable me to sit outside with a glass of wine, listening to my bees pollinating the beans and the fledgling blue tits working the fat balls with assiduous help from their parents.

Sunshine!

My favourite thing about summer is the quality of light: everything looks bright, clean, sharp & alive and that reflects on our faces & lifts our spirits!

My favourite thing about summer is sitting in the sun on the beach wearing my sunhat, the warm sand around my feet, hearing children playing and watching the waves.

Love been able to wear my flip-flops, Pimms, Wimbledon :-)

I love when the sun is touching my skin. You breath positivity and happines in. Reading in the garden, cycling on the seaside, walking in a forest, bbq, everything outside.

For me it is a toss up between not having to don wellies, gloves, hat and coatjust to go outside to put my goose to bed and the longer days when I feel I can achieve so much more.

I love sitting in my "sitooterie" with a good book or playing with my granddaughter and her teaset. The view over the Firth of Clyde to Arran helps too !

The lighter,warmer evenings when I can sit in my garden reading, with the chirping of birds, and scents of glorious flowers around me.

Picking strawberries then raspberries and making jam, so that every jar tastes and smells of summer.

The lighter evenings and being able to go camping!

I love to sit under a parasol in the garden with a good book, listening to the birds and occasionally sip a nice glass of wine (not necessarily in that order!)

What do I like about summer? Just about everything (assuming it's a warm one). I love the heat, the light, the sounds of the birds, the butterflies flying round the garden drinking the nectar, the flowers growing in the garden and reading a new book, with a drink on the side, on the patio. Everything is better when the sun shines.