Early Blooms

Spring is arriving in fits and starts. I wanted to take some photos of our garden today, but it is pouring down. Around the base of the old apple tree the circle of primroses is now fully in bloom and we have a full bank of them along one of our stone walls. Amongst the sherbety yellow flowers are some soft, dusty pink ones. These perhaps are my favourites and the ones I wanted to show. Perhaps it is the way they look nestled amongst the soft lemons and greens of spring, or perhaps its just because pink is my favourite colour. If weather improves I'll photograph them over the weekend and post them next week
Still in the garden the wild garlic is blooming, perennial stocks are beginning to flower, the bluebells are nearly there and (very excitingly) fresh shoots are emerging from the peonies.
With the weather so gloomy I've been making some ragged roses for Easter. I guess it may be some compensation for not being out gardening. I use the roses as corsages, add them to my rag bags and hook them on cushions. I'm thinking about making up a bunch to add to my new teacosy, we'll see ...

I think roses are perhaps my favourite flowers, just the smell of them takes me right back to my childhood, I used to make rose "perfume" on summer evenings with my friend next door. We would crush my mother's prized rose petals into a jam jar filled with water and dab the scent all over us. It is one of my most vivid memories and I love watching my girls running around the garden in the summer plunging lavender, marigolds and roses into containers and mixing them up with a pestle and mortar, slightly more reluctant these days to actually wear the scent though. If given the choice I always choose rose scented soaps and body creams - the Rose Body Cream from Neal's Yard is delicious!
Enough rambling, have a good weekend,