Growing in the spring sunshine: The Gallery, Week 34

Today was a blissful day of sunshine. It felt GREAT! Spring is of course a tumultuous time of year. One day I’m reaching for my summer skirt thinking the worst is behind me – only to find my lilly whites shivering and knees knocking as an unexpected southerly blows through; the next day I’m putting on my jeans and boots with a huff as the temperature plummets 10 degrees in an hour – only to end up sweltering later in the day.

But what I LOVE about spring is the garden. Watching the glorious colours come alive and surprise me every day. Colours I’d forgotten from the year before. Flowers budding like old friends come to revisit the garden after a period of absence.

I LOVE seeing it come alive and my seedlings grow by the day.

I LOVE hearing my children play out in the garden before and after school. Watching them play in new ways than they did the year before. They measure up to a new notch on the Pohutukawa tree each year. They can climb in new ways and want to push their physical abilities with ever more daring exploits. And for some, baby Alice, it is her first ever spring. So special to watch her enjoy the delights of her first splash in the paddling pool. To watch her face as she feels the grass under her bare-feet. To chuckle as she discovers ‘wee wee’ and reaches down to work out what the warm trickle is! To remind her over and over that leaves, stones and dirt don’t make for tasty fodder.

It is so magical to share the delights of nature with a child. Smells, sounds, different textures and tastes. Colours that change with the light. Glaring sunshine and dancing shadows.

On Sunday Dan took all the girls to the playground for an hour so I could plant some hanging baskets, seedlings and do a general tidy up. I couldn’t thank him enough when he returned. It felt so good to get my hands in the rich soil and gently tuck the roots of life into their new home. When the girls came back they were honoured with watering the arrivals. Charlotte noticed the rainbows in the spray and I smiled with that inner glow that one feels when nature hands us a magic card.