Week 16

A glorious bit of canopy, and a tulip update

Hello!

I hope you have had a good week. Here summer switched on, just suddenly, overnight, for two days at least - actual warm breezes, birds singing, and glorious sun beating down. I sat outside with no cardigan on. People played their music with their windows open, one of my favourite things about living in the city in the summer, and parents delved into sheds for long neglected paddling pools. Then the temperature dropped again, but we have had a taste of it, and the sun, as I write, is actually shining. Not something I have been able to say many times this year.

This is our weekly community post in which we chart the seasons, week by week. i tell you something I have noticed this week that felt particularly ‘this week’ and then you tell me yours in the comments. On the last day of the month I assemble them all into a big beautiful poem, and then we start it all over again.

Just before all that…

…In last weekend’s Sunday morning chat (we all share our seasonal pics there every Sunday morning - you will need to download the app to access this) I promised a tulip review. I write about planting them here, and they have generally been pretty lovely. They have all come out at roughly the same time AND they did so before the muscari were completely over. A very pretty picture.

My long-time favourite Apricot Beauty came up first, a really clear and soft peach. Belle Epoque is like its sophisticated older sister, all ruffles and flushes of blush and raspberry, an absolute blowsy delight. This is the first time I’ve grown Wyndham and I love it though I can see now it is a little too close to La Belle Epoque really, kind of a rounder, tighter, more plum version. The only duffer really was Pretty Princess - much more fluorescent pink than in the catalogues and a bit short and mean looking too - though it did come up last so maybe it will still mature into something beautiful. Overall I think I got a bit carried away with ruffles and multi-colours and could have done with a couple of solid anchoring tulips in there, but I have learnt a lesson. Stop being so fancy.

Here’s my ‘this week’ thing:

A glorious bit of canopy

The horse chestnut leaves are fully out, spreading, being gloriously green against the occasionally blue sky. They are just about the only ones, and there are plenty of wintry looking trees out there, but what a joy it is to see them.

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That’s it from me. Please tell me what you have noticed/eaten/bought/watched/ spotted/smelt this week that feels particularly ‘this week’.