“Spring”
The skies of steel and fields white with frost
Are memories of yesterday
And white scarecrow children search the hedgerows … and splash
Through muddy pools for secrets … the spirit of the spring,
With the sunbeams on her hair … shakes the sleeping earth …
And with the pilgrim by her side … she murmurs in the trees …
And in the ears of all who listen … “Now … time to wake … for winter has gone”.
Credit to Chris Simpson of Magna Carta from their fabulous album “Seasons” and quoted here because I was reminded of the album, as I was preparing to post some photos from my back garden, and it seemed rather appropriate.
Spring is well and truly here and there are fresh shoots and flowers appearing all over the place.
One of the first flowers to put in an appearance has been this white Camellia, a gift from our granddaughters a couple of years ago. This is one of three, unfortunately only two survived the first winter.
Always quick off the mark are the roses. Sometimes I find the fresh leaves bursting forth much more attractive than the flowers. I have no idea of the species name for this example but it always produces wonderfully blousey pink flowers with a beautiful scent.
A couple of years ago we planted half a dozen Primula in a small raised bed. They refused to obey the rules of boundary and are steadily spreading throughout what we laughingly call our lawn. The flowers are so pretty that I have to avoid them, when I eventually get round to mowing the grass, leaving ragged tufts of long grass scattered around the garden. At least until the flowers are gone. Then it’s a Primula massacre.
Of course it’s not only the plants that burst forth, full of the joys of spring. The birds are at it too. Over the last few days we have noticed many species visiting our garden including Jays, Woodpeckers, Wrens, Blackbirds, Robins and Tits. Of course the tits are with us all year round as are the Robins and not forgetting the vultures, sorry, Wood Pigeon’s.
As the Jays, Woodpeckers, Blackbirds and Robins have been arriving in pairs I have been half expecting Noah to pull up alongside our deck aboard his Ark. Of course the Tis always arrive en masse, especially the Long-Tailed variety. Hustling through the trees, chattering away. Raiding our garden and feeders before moving on to the next.
We have had a Hazel tree ever since we moved into this house some thirty years ago. Every year it gives us a grand display of red leaves and later carries large numbers of nuts. Of course we never get to harvest them. The squirrels always seem to discover them before they get a chance to ripen. The ground below the tree is strewn with the discarded shells with tops cut off. Just like a decapitated hard-boiled egg.
Our Grape Hyacinths grow in number every year. Unfortunately, due to our garden being churned up during the conservatory rebuild, this year the numbers are down. We are looking forward to them reclaiming the garden over future years as things settle down.
We are now looking forward to getting out there and making the most of the garden as the warmer weather comes along.
WrAnTz 