SPRING
Celebrating the abundance of Spring as leaves, flower buds, grasses and plants burst into life and songbirds welcome the day with symphonies of Dawn Chorus.
Soldier Beetle
An armoured beetle soldiers on,
A force of life in the heat of the sun,
Long and slender with leatherlike wings,
Polllinating flowers in the early spring.
Red Admiral Butterfly
Magnificent butterfly with black velvet wings,
I see your white spotted tips and bright orange bands,
A welcome migrant from northern climes,
A symbol of transformation, joy and happy times.
Honey Bee
Honey scented matico, a magnet for bees,
Bright orange ball flowers attract them with ease,
Bursting with nectar and pollen to please:
A delicious scent on a gentle breeze.
Harlequin Ladybird
Bringer of fortune, innocence and love,
Ladybugs remind us to live life to the full,
A gift to brighten any day,
Transformations with happy resolutions are on their way.
Hover Fly
Hamless hoverfly, gardener's friend,
A suit so glossy with striking bands,
With wings that hover at impossible speeds,
This skilled deceiver mimics bees.
Feeding on aphids, bugs and thrips,
Pollinating flowers where're she goes,
Like a hornet but with larger eyes and lack of sting,
The stunning belted hoverfly is a beautiful thing.
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Burnet Moth
A red spotted moth found on the dunes,
Resting on a striking Viper's-Bugloss bloom,
Glossy black with six spots on its long, narrow wings,
Slowly fluttering in and around the reeds.
Cotton Thistle
Head down and diving in,
A bee loves nectar rich thistles like these,
They are bright and lucious and sweet as can be,
With fine cotton hairs on their stems and leaves.
Flower Crab Spider
Without a web to catch its food,
The flower crab spider sits and broods,
Laying in wait for an insect, moth or bee,
To land on the flower where they come to feed.
Sleeping Snails
Tiny lemon snail sleeping under a leaf,
Not far from the sea on a sandbar reef;
Tucked up closely to an accommodating friend;
Safe and cosy as the wind blows and the leaves bend.
Gold Ringed Dragonfly
A riverland wonder from the southern glades,
On her way to her breeding place,
Resting to gather warmth in the sun,
Before going on her way.
Fast and angile, sleek and strong,
With stunning markings in black and gold,
Her beauty would be hard to replace,
A living symbol of elegance, happiness, peace and grace.
Busy Bee
A bee can travel ten miles a day to gather food,
Sweet nectar and pollen to feed her brood,
Never a moment's rest for this busy bee,
A joy to hear and a delight to see.
Sacred Snail
Slow to move but steady and true,
Snails know which way to go,
Carrying their home in their spiral shells,
Reminding us to take our time and consider our decisions well.
Daisy Trap
In the light of the sun and the heat of the day,
An invisible flower crab lies in wait,
Ready to pounce on some passing prey,
Any bee or bug that happens to come his way.
Ladybird Bridge
Imagine a ladybird crossing a road,
A hazardous journey if truth be told,
This little one has a better fate,
A nice steady walk on a sturdy gate.
Copper Coloured Beetles
Beetles know the right way to go,
Come rain or shine or sleet or snow,
They come to caution us from making haste,
To remind us to take the time we need or wait.
It's easy to overlook the little things,
The wisdom they share and the comfort they bring,
Beetles remind us that patience is good,
Be sure to look out for them out in the woods.
Bluebell Fields
Throwback to the farming days of old;
A time of wagons, scythes and horse drawn ploughs,
When fileds were full of wildflowers, herbs and food,
Bringing joy to all, in harmony for the good.
Summer Snowflakes
Snowdrops, Summer Snowflakes, love to grow in dappled shade,
Laid like a pretty carpet, on a roadside glade,
Long slim leaves and tall dark stems,
With dainty bonnet flowers dipping down on top of them
New Beginnings
The first sign of Spring can be found in the woods,
Wild Garlic leaves spring from their rhizomes beneath,
Gracing pathways with ribbons of fresh new life,
With the promise of abundance in flowers and buds.
Wild Garlic Fields
Wild Garlic fields, swathe upon swaths,
Ancient gift of the woods; white flowers, crisp leaves and opening buds,
A find for a forager, a family feast,
So full of goodness and tasty to eat.
New Leaves
New leaves burst from every branch in Spring,
So fresh and soft, glowing in translucent green,
Perfectly made with atoms, cells and elegant veins,
The miracle of life therin contained.
Sweet Violet
Sweet Violet, shy one, know that you are truly blessed,
For your daintiness and charm,
For your exquisite hue so warm,
For your comfort and your balm,
For your prettiness and calm, quiet surrender.
Nature's Champion
Oh darling, Red Campions, take me back in time,
To my childhood days when summertime stretched out for miles and miles,
When your colour wass a siran, a notice and a bell,
To say, warm days are on otheir way and all will be well.
Wild Parsely Lanes
As the weather starts to warm, a chill winds in the air,
Wild Parsley opens up in fields and verges, and in lanes,
In sprays of charm, they bloom into clouds of white;
Lace-like and graceful, an early Spring delight.
Greater Stitchwort
No prettier flowers adorn our field edges and lanes,
Pure whte petals, heartshaped, stunning yet plain,
With pretty gold stamens, dancing in the breeze,
There is no lovelier wildflowers, than wildflowers like these.
Fern Light
I love the way the sunshine lights the Ferns,
Delicate fronds, unfurling in the Sun,
Such lime-green freshness, every Spring since time began,
To bless this Earth with colour, life and love.
Fern Art
Ferns stretch upwards towards the light,
Tips dipped, revealing sori in lines,
Spores in the sporangia, close to release,
The beauty of new life contained in each fronded leaf.
Unfurling Frond
An furling frond emerges from a rhizome underground,
Head coiled tightly in a crosier spiralling round,
Just like the head of of an instrument, carved in wood,
The Fiddlehead is named as such, as it fondly should.
Wild One
Whether wild or crept from a garden hedge,
Such pretty petals white and blushed with red,
Starlight bright against the richness of the green,
I am thankful for the simple joy you bring,
Sycamore Symphony
The grandest entrance for the grandest of trees,
The Sycamore is budding like a symphony,
Such strident energy and pure flamboyancy,
Fast-growing known for strength, protection and longevity.
Perfect Motion
As exquisite as a painting,
A genius form of art,
As perfect as a picture,
In motion, full of life.
Hawthorn Trails
Long trailing branches of a Hawthorn Tree,
Gently swaying in a fresh Spring breeze,
The scent of honey and almonds so distinct,
Soon time to go-a-Maying, this coming month.
Blackthorn Blossom
Named for its dark plum bark and thorny branches,
Petals blossom between razor-sharp edges,
Delicate flowers, clustered like stars in early Spring,
Bringing musk-scented billows of white to hedgerows and fields.
Sunshine Delight
A little bit of sunshine goes a long, long way,
Cheering on the opening buds at the break of day,
Filling hearts with wonder, bringing brighter days,
It's good to know that Spring is truly on its way.
Darling Namesia
Darling Nemesia, scent of Jasmine and Honey,
Perfect flowers, like tiny Orchids reaching up towards the Sun,
Your fifth year, bringing pleasure, as you have always done,
Thriving in your bigger pot with gifts of tiny pink buds.
Almonds and Spice
Hawthorn Blossom never fails to delight,
The prettiest of stamens and petals in white,
A scent so delicious of almonds and spice,
Such blessings await us when we venture outside.
Apple Tree
Apple blossoms on an old Apple tree,
Like pretty pale pink garlands, fluttering in the breeze,
I look up to the sky to marvel at the picture,
Nature brings no end of joy and makes our lives so much richer.
Apple Blossom
Powder pink and papery, delicate as breath,
The first of the Apple Blossoms, an early Spring gift,
Soon to open out to pollinate, to be fertilised and grow,
Into fruits of juicy Apples, a harvest to bestow.
Wildflower Meadow
As the grass starts to grow at the start of its journey;
Wildflowers burst into life in meadows and field edges,
The brightest of yellows are the first to appear,
With Calendine, Buttercup and Dandelion cheer.
Rose Bud
The first of the Rose Buds, so perfectly formed,
A miracle of petals, folded tigthly in folds,
A glimpse of the colour, soon to burst and be born,
To grace every garden in country, city and town.
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