Monday 7 January 2013

Good-bye Christmas, hello Spring

The sixth of January and time to put the Christmas decorations away for another year.  After I had dismantled the tree I went out into the garden and noticed that we had a camellia in bloom.


Only one so far but we have several camellia bushes and they are all in bud.  Then I looked at the pots on the decking and saw that things are beginning to bloom in them.  There were three snowdrops in one (impossible to photograph), a tiny iris in another (same problem) and two roses.



It always amazes me how some plants ignore winter down here.  Perhaps I should have expected it as a couple of days ago I went for a walk up the hill and there on the south-facing slopes, were daffodils in bloom.


Yesterday I was able to buy daffodils from the village shop which I suspect had come from these fields.


We have noticed that the fields beside the Penzance distributor road have plenty in bloom and they are being picked commercially.   Daffodils and narcissi are traditional crops in these parts and were a vital part of the economy in the days before flowers could be flown in from warmer places.  They are still a vital part of the economy of the Isles of Scilly.

They are a wonderful sight especially when the weather is as grey as it is now.   In 2009 I was inspired to make a journal quilt based on the commercial fields that overlook Mounts Bay.  Can I remember what I did?  The background is dyed and then printed using bubble wrap.  I think it is time I got back to doing some printing as it can be very effective.


2 comments:

  1. Thank you Elizabeth. What a joy seeing flowers blooming especially as is it is all wet and brown around here. Fields of daffodils makes you think Spring is around the corner. Maybe not quite yet, but it is on it's way!

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  2. I have been off the blog for a while so how nice to come back to this rather joyful reminder that spring is definitely round the corner!

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