Deep- Blue Linen at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

A cool, cream kitchen and neutral off-white paintwork create a warm base, which is lifted with a smart deep- blue linenblue linen blind. For added impact, vases along the windowsill in matching shades of blue and cream extend the colour scheme to every aspect of the room.

Blue can be a cold colour, but lighter tones are just right for creating a fresh, airy feel. Here, a deep turquoise has been used for the unit doors with a lighter blue painted on the walls. Mosaic tiles in matching tones with hints of green mixed in make a colourful, coordinated splashback.

When Farrer wrote of Meconopsis his thoughts were of a very beautiful flower, a flower that had become, like edelweiss, a legend in its own horticultural time. For these blossoms are four-petaled (sometimes up to ten) poppies with many golden stamens and colors that run the gamut from sky blue to pale blue to deep purple and an occasional lavender. But they are flowers that, unfortunately, could be most politely termed as 'difficult to grow."