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ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

© Michael Campbell

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This is definitely my most favourite time of the year in the garden and in the countryside. Everything is bright and fresh with the new foliage as yet unblemished by the weather, displaying that surge of growth that you can almost smell in the air. The hawthorns are in full bloom and the countryside is awash with swathes of white and pink blossom. I had occasion to travel up the country yesterday and stopped for a rest at the top of a hill which had a view over a large valley and extended to a hill a few miles away. The vista was only breathtaking, with the pink and white hawthorn blossom, the new foliage on the trees, the smell of fresh grass and the birds singing, gave me a beautiful feeling of well-being, it was heavenly.

Back in the garden things are not much different with every plant making an effort to do what plants do at this time of the year, produce flowers or nice foliage, or both. The dry spell for the last four weeks has brought out the best in most plants, and with no rain to damage the petals the flowers are all in pristine condition. It did necessitate a lot of watering though which took me about two hours each night. With the front garden almost stripped of plants now all the effort is concentrated in the back now, and another piece of rock garden has been added to the pool area utilizing the stones removed from the front. Planting up this new piece has alleviated some of the pressure in the alpine house which was busting at the seams. All the Lewisia x Brachycalyx hybrids are in full bloom as are the entire Lewisia cotyledon, and the alpine house is a blasé of colour from end to end.

While trying to photograph some of the flowers I accidentally tripped on the cable and broke the lens of my new digital camera, which left me without a camera for three weeks while it was repaired, and in the process I missed a lot of good photographic opportunities. But then that is the way my luck runs, only for bad luck I would have no luck at all.

The other alpine house that housed my collection of bulbous plants is also full of flowers with Tritonia making the best show at the moment. The colours are mostly of the orange or orange-red spectrum. Tulbaghias and Moraeas make up the other bulbous plants in bloom and some Cyclamen repanda are doing their thing under the bench.