Spring Is Sprung!

Spring is Sprung!

It has warmed all our hearts to see that - at least for a little while last week - spring has sprung at last! and the forsythia has been in full bloom.

We have had beautiful daffodils, and it seems the other springtime flowers are equally determined to put on a show! The tulips are up, in red and yellow, along with polyanthus, alyssum, and baskets of pansies that have seeded themselves and are flowering merrily. The roses have become a real leaf factory and there are sticky buds all over the bushes: the two in this picture are "Blue for You" and "Tottering-by-Gently." 

This latter rose has been inspired by a series of books featuring cartoons about a very aristocratic family, called the Totterings: Lord and Lady Tottering, otherwise known as Dicky and Daffy, with their extended family, who live in Tottering-by-Gently. They are the sort of folk who are always ready for a gin and tonic, once the sun is up and over the yard arm!

I've bought several titles of the books and I think it would be good to quote a few lines from the details published about the author, Annie Tempest:

"She created the Totterings in 1993 and in 2009, Annie Tempest was awarded the prestigious Pont Prize, for her portrayal of the British Character. The Tottering-by-Gently cartoon strip has been hugely popular in Country Life magazine for over twenty-five years."

I think it's no surprise they have received further appreciation, by having a rose named after them!

There is a main road I drive down when I'm going to Tesco, where one side in particular is the first to flower in the spring, and is usually a beautiful early mass of pink and white blossom. I may have written about this before, but it never fails to delight me, and to appreciate the beauty of nature at its best. Flowering is about a month late this year, but it's so good to see the trees waking up a last. 

The evening weather bulletins have also started reporting the pollen count expected for the next day; we know spring and summer are not pure, unalloyed joy for anyone suffering from hay fever, nevertheless it is a cheering thought to believe we shall have warmer weather at last - and hopefully a respite from the high gas and electricity bills we've had to pay to keep warm this winter!