The breathtaking beauty of the spring garden in all its glory

One of the joys of spring, especially on a warm, sunny, late April evening, is to sit quietly in the garden and watch the sun slowly go down as it sends glorious shafts of soft light through the new leaves on Japanese maple trees.

I have tried to enhance this experience by pouring a glass of prosecco or by playing some beautiful music, but nothing really improves the simplicity of just sitting quietly with perhaps the last of the day’s birdsong interrupting the silence once in a while.

April on a warm night is the quintessence of spring, the definition of all that is lovely about the garden springing back to life.

I look around and see so many wonders. Exquisite yellow erythroniums (dog’s tooth violets) next to the gorgeous blue flowers of brunnera. 

Spectacular pink trusses on an old rhododendron tell me it is nearing the first of May. This rhodo is as punctual as a train conductor with timetable to keep.

In other places, I see buds on rhododendrons slowly unfurling along with the stately elegance of Spanish bluebells and smaller, clustered spires of blue grape hyacinths.

The soft green of low growing euphorbias fill the ground around trees and boxwood balls and a superb early flowering clematis macropetala smothers an arch between two portions of the garden.

Bleedinghearts share ground with white rhododendron flowers that illuminate the garden long past sunset.

Tulips and daffodils are everywhere. My eye is caught by the sun yellow with fiery red splashes of an Olympic tulip.

The Japanese maples are decorated with thousands of dangling flowers, each one delicate and complicated and easily overlooked. Closer inspection reveals what gems these are. They appears and disappear so quickly.

Ferns are unfolding with wild, freaky, other-worldly frond-shapes and hostas are racing up from the soil and opening leaves as fast they are able.

Fresh out of winter quarters, purple aeoniums and echeveria clearly enjoy the new air and gentle breezes and brighter light. 

If you hold your breath, I believe you can hear the garden growing and expanding and reaching for light and competing for space.

Everywhere there is an unstoppable vitality and energy. It’s all about the will to succeed and flourish and become even more beautiful than thought possible.

Spring is in the garden and is already moving at a gallop. You can’t keep up. All you can do is enjoy nature’s glorious avalanche of beauty.

It is a sweetness that humbles and leaves us breathless with admiration and appreciation.

swhysall@hotmail.com