herb roberts

Just a thought – "a fistful of love!"

Just a thought – "a fistful of love!"

nao

“A rose can say ‘I love you’, orchids can enthrall, but a weed bouquet in a small chubby fist, – that says it all.” -Author Unknown

I heard this saying recently and it came to mind again today as I strolled home in the beautiful sunshine with my little three year old. We were admiring some flowers in the hedgerow and my little companion decided he would like to bring some flowers home for his convalescing daddy. After the delay of Summer in this Country it is uplifting to see all these little bursts of colour emerging in the hedgerow. It is amazing how many different flowers we came across on our slow half mile walk home from playschool!

 

This little fistful includes dandelion, buttercup, daisy, herb roberts, forget-me-not, speed well, scarlet pimpernel, vetch and horsetails. Anyone who has been following my blogs will be aware of my loose definition of a weed and my delight in all these little hedgerow friends.

We often look to the exotic and rare in the pursuit of beauty but if we take a moment to bend our heads and look into our local hedgerows and grassy verges we can find an abundance of beauty in the common, local and tiny plants that grow there.

Many of these plants held symbolic and medicinal value to our ancestors, perhaps I will explore these lores and legends a little further in individual blogs about some of these little delights, what do you think? If you have an opinion, a suggestion or some information to share on the topic please drop me a note in the comments below!

Just a thought…

Thought of the day… "the passing of the seasons"

Thought of the day… "the passing of the seasons"

nao

Well it is official… Spring is here for sure… the Cuckoo was heard from our garden yesterday, not by me I’m afraid, not yet anyway, but it definitely marks the ticking of nature’s clock, the passing of the seasons.  The cuckoo is calling, tick that box, all is well with the world!

I have to admit I love the anticipation of each seasonal landmark.  The first snowdrop, the arrival of the golden daffodils, the synchronous timing of the budding of each tree, like a perfectly tuned orchestra, each player patiently awaiting it’s moment and joining the symphony at exactly the correct point in time.

photo credit: zenera via photopin cc
photo credit: zenera via photopin cc

My children have lived in this house all their young lives and I am charmed to see them remarking on these  natural milestones too.  They begin to remember their own landmarks of the passing of the seasons and ask me when a certain one will arrive.  These things they have learned on their own… or more precisely, Mother Nature has taught them, tapping them gently on the shoulder to anchor the arrival of each new marvel.

We are lucky to live in the country where nature so beautifully illustrates the passage of the seasons.  The hedgerow by our house, each plant revealing another milestone.  A natural metronome tapping out the appearance of each… the colts foot, lesser celandine, cowslips, dandelions, herb roberts, speed-well, the flowering gorse, bird’s foot trefoil, angelica, meadow sweet, valerian.  As one disappears another arrives and there is a feeling of familiarity and contentment in seeing an old friend emerging once again.  Each a lovely reminder of our early years in this house, before we had children, when my husband and I would walk the lane together and he would point out the arrival of each new plant, teaching me it’s name.  Now every time I see a familiar arrival I remember that special time.

….just a thought!