Wetlands in the Purbecks
After a wet, cold and very windy March/April, beautiful May is here and yet the rain still keeps coming. The bluebells and blossoms love it and the cow parsley in our wild flower garden is growing taller every day. It is waiting for the sun to shine before it eventually becomes a gentle haze of creamy white flowers. Marjoram, lemon balm, mint and chives fill the herbary; The pink campion bank and blue forgetmenots having self seeded are mingling with bee loving comfrey.
Buttercups, daisies, bugle and cowslips grow in the lawn which has been left uncut for a while but it is still too cold and wet for bees and the butterflies are struggling once again. I watch and wait for butterflies, despite the abundance of wild flowers only a few orange tips and blues emerged briefly a few days ago; we can only hope bees will return soon to set the blossoms and spread the pollen ……..sadly every year we see less.
On a positive note, the birds keep busy singing and building nests whatever the weather. I sat in our garden the other morning just before first light to listen to the dawn chorus, it wasn’t raining – what a glorious way to start the day!
The herbary
And so what to paint? Finding inspiration has been difficult during the long dark days of winter but after the spring equinox there was a subtle change and shift of energy. The trees and plants felt it too and once again the garden has greened up and overflows with nature and wild life.
A perfect time to get the brushes, paint and paper out and see what happens, feel the vibrancy of fresh colour around me and with any luck I may even see a spectacular sunset.