June in Bournemouth: poppy fields, hand-picked strawberries and other pleasures…

Unfortunately, June wasn’t as warm as April or May, and July doesn’t seem to be summery either… but while looking through the photos I took in June, I smiled when seeing the explosion of colours. Red and pink poppies from Dorset fields, flowery peonies, crimson sweet strawberries hand-picked at a local farm, and tons of healthy banana and oat pancakes I ate with seasonal fruits. In this blog post you’ll find a huge dose of vibrant photos that will give you some summery energy – because the weather outside won’t! – and…my healthy banana-and oat pancakes recipe. I promise you can eat them without feeling guilty of consuming too many calories.

Peonies

I think I’ve made up my mind and will forever say that peonies – seasonal, summery flowers – are my favourites! Just look at this pink explosion!

Pink opium poppies

I follow a lot of Dorset photographers’ Instagram profiles and so I started seeing beautiful shots of pink poppy fields on their feeds. But when I tried to find where its location was, I couldn’t find any information at all! It turns out that it’s a secret known to only very few and it’s protected as if it were a cave full of gold. I did eventually found out, but I can’t tell you how… because I promised.

Apparently, opium poppy fields are grown in different locations every year to prevent people from knowing where they are.

Red poppies

These are much easier to find. You just need to get to Badbury Rings, drive a little bit further and park along the road. The red poppies attracted a lot of enthusiasts of Instagrammable photos (well, I’m one of them!). I would say that these red poppies could become as popular as the lavender fields in Provence.

Hand-picked strawberries at Sopley Farm

Even though we can eat strawberries all year round, it’s only in June and July that their flavour becomes the sweetest and the juiciest – it is the taste of summer indeed. You can hand-pick your strawberries as well as other seasonal fruits in one of the local farms around Dorset.

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Banana and oat flour pancakes with peanut butter and strawberries (or whatever toppings you like).

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I eat tons of pancakes. Because I love them to bits, I had to find a way to make them healthy. Here is my recipe for pancakes which are full of good fibre (oats) and good carbs (banana) to give you energy for the day. Top them with peanut butter (a source of fibre and protein) and any fruit you like and you’ve got yourself a nutritious breakfast or snack.

What little pleasures have you experienced in June? I hope you were able to pay attention to the small things of happiness the summer months give us. Flowers, seasonal fruit and vegetables, more sunshine, and warm summer nights (hmm not so much in England…) – you know what I’m talking about, right?