There is a particular hour in late May when the garden smells like something is about to happen. The roses are at that heavy, almost reckless peak — they have put everything into this week and they know it won't last. The elderflower clusters are just cracking open, tight corymbs loosening into lace. And in the chamomile bed, the first flowers have that domed yellow center with the petals just beginning to sweep back — which is, as it turns out, precisely the moment you want them.

All three will be gone, or past their best, within a fortnight. The chamomile gives you about two days per flower head before the petals droop. The elderflower window is three weeks at most, and the best medicine comes early in it. The roses are extravagant with their timing, but a hot week ends them quickly.

This week I am harvesting all three. Each one has a story worth knowing before you take the scissors out.

Here is what I found: