According to a Swedish legend, there was a cobbler who each year put up a sign that said "Closed Between Bird Cherry and Lilac".

And this is indeed an enchanting time of year! Beautiful and intoxicating early summer. When veils of green leaves open on the bare branches. The heady scents of blossoms. Fresh shades of greens and bird song.

Every year I keep thinking that I really ought to do what the cobbler did! Hang up a sign on the door and take a few weeks off to indulge in this time of sheer beauty. And every year it turns out to be a busy time of year!

I had to do something about it so last week I spent the day walking all over Djurgården in Stockholm. I was dizzy with summer! Lunch in the fruit orchard at Rosendals Trädgård under clouds of cherry blossom was almost too much to take in. Breathtaking.

Back in the studio I worked on this desktop picture with an orchard with cherry trees in bloom which originally was inspired by a letter from Japan. But that is a different story! Trying to give the image this almost ethereal feeling I had in the orchard... And perhaps a bit of a story book quality!

Cherry Orchard wallpaper is available in the Freebies section and comes in several sizes and variations for different types of monitors and set ups. There are fullscreen, widescreen, iPhone and iPod Touch versions so pick a good one!

Tags: design, seasonal, floral, summer, spring, nature, Japanese