A slow start to summer won't dampen my mood...

“It was fine May weather, with the hawthorn flowering on every hedge.”

John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps.

There hasn’t been any fine May weather so far. More of that later. A miracle of nature has just been and gone. Cherry blossom this year was particularly striking.  Did you notice? The delightful pink colour contrasting with the blue skies of early to mid-April is one of the visual highlights of the year. There were plenty of blue skies in the first half of April and some very cold nights. Whether this made any difference or not it was most impressive. March was dull, mild and grey. April was mostly cold, barring the exceptional heat wave over Easter. With lots of sunshine. That must have helped.

A potential consequence of the Easter heat has seen another marvel manifesting in the garden. The lavender plants are positively thriving after a poor summer last season undoubtedly due to my over-eager chopping the previous winter. The roots and branches stretching out with impressive suppleness to maximise contact with the sun, they are a magnificent sight. A classic favourite with bees, the cold weather seems to be limiting their fluffy, buzzing presence but the lavender plants are proving most popular with a range of different bumble bees which are working away despite the low temperatures. Most of us think of a bumble bee as the large hairy one with black and white stripes and a yellow tail. This is true but there are many other species to look out for. The first to come this year was a small black bumble, then a more classic stripey bumble of relatively small stature. And a bronze coloured one. I’ve only seen one large bumble so far. Hopefully as the weather warms and more flowers come into bloom, their number and variety will increase. Keep an eye out, there are more types than you might imagine.

            As Shakespeare noted in his sonnet, “rough winds do shake the darling buds of May”. There have been some rough winds and cold winds. Storm Hannah in late April did some damage and more recently,  winds coming from the Arctic over a still cold North Sea have made it distinctly un-summer like. The cold start to May seems to be limiting activity in general but there are signs of another of my favourite gifts from the plant world. The beautiful sight of hawthorns is beginning to unfold and should reach fullness of expression around the third week of May. Look out for those splendid white flowers, it won’t last long.

            One other jewel is imminent. My first rose flowers of the summer should soon arrive. Nurturing plants and see them flower is a powerful act. And developing a new relationship, as it were, as I have since I started growing roses is akin to making new friendships with all the joy, anticipation and discovery that comes from it. Like friendships or any relationship, in fact, gardening is a case of the more you put in, the more you get out. A rose flower shows the genius and wonder of nature as well as anything; The detail, the intricacy, the delicacy, the beauty. It's worth the effort.

            I’ve spent a fair amount of time recently in an “English garden, waiting for the sun”. Not sitting though, too cold for that. De-weeding, tidying and planting. Summer sun may be reticent and secretive at the moment but it makes it all the sweeter when it does come.