Spring Is In The Air!

The title of this post may be such a reckless cliché, but hey, it still makes me feel like going Tra La La. And it's true, because I'm kind of glad my mum forced me under pain of death (well, not literally, she didn't threaten me with a gun or anything, but I like that expression) to take some fresh air and go to one of the shops near our country house. I was against it at first because I had a mountain of homework and I still wanted to blog, so to me it felt like a time-waster, but that excuse sort of backfired, because that's what gave me the idea for this post.

So, I'm sure you guys recall that a month ago I wrote a rant about how the British weather gods urgently need to sort out their differences and stop that March snow. Well, they're evidently followers of my blog (through what I wonder? Google Deity Connect?), because after that post, they took matters straight into their hands and dealt with the ol' winter-in-spring mess-up. Because after a brief period of mild-temperatured, boring weather, now it actually feels like archetypal, clichéd spring. And that's probably the only time you'll hear me use those words in a positive context. Because for classic, legendary things (and no, I'm not talking about Mozart here) like spring, they are the biggest compliments.

I like spring. In its stereotypical ideals, at least. After the bitingly cold temperatures of February and March, and before people get bored of heat round about July, it comes when people have exhausted this year's snow novelty (autumn is like this too, but instead it reminds people that this boring old heat will go and soon there will be snow and Christmas and the like) and gives us a welcome taste of bearable heat. And like the red leaves of the other in-between season, it gives us a genuine natural beauty. And of course, if it's beauty, I'll give you some pictures!

Light blue and a picture-perfect green. The best spring colours you'll find.

Our own primroses and other people's garden/cemetery daffodils. I love the way some of the flowers glow in the camera, they're so bright.

I really like this picture. I love how the trees loop over to frame our back garden river and the swan. He seems so still and isolated, as if he's drinking in the natural beauty. And if you look closely, his reflection looks like a bull with horns :).

And of course, spring is when all the macaws migrate to Suffolk! :)
-DP :)

Do you like the spring season? Or are winter, summer or autumn more your thing? Don't hesitate to comment!

Why Don't These People Decorate Their Driveways?

Hello again! Thankfully that niggling sore throat has just about gone away, and I feel ready to post again. Especially after the eye-tingling sight I saw on the way to my wonderful Nana's house (which I believe I've mentioned before :)) back on Tuesday. She lives in a small suburb of Brighton called Rottingdean, and there's this long road spanning two or three hills leading up to the convent-turned-residence where she lives. And along it there are several identical houses, with big gardens. And that all sounds very pretty and positive to have a garden, but that will change once you see the real thing!

 These driveways! I mean really. They have such a huge opportunity to decorate a front garden of a size like that, but they choose to leave it in plain stone. Tut Tut. Some people. It's made even worse by that shadow from the brick wall. Even less picturesque.

 Maybe this one with the crazy paving is a little better. I always like all the mad cracks, they're disorderly but fun. Only they sort of fade away into dirt at the edge, a sign of low maintenance. 

But I HATE THAT IRON GATE! It's almost as if the designers have tried to conceal the empty driveway by putting in fake über-security . Honestly, things like that belong in a manor house, not an average suburban family home. Know what you design, as they say.

This next one I actually quite like, amazingly. I love the loneliness of that skinny little tree, an island in a sea of driveway. It's a very small decoration but very effective. 

These gardens with the exotic plants (and some very impressive pampas grass) are also great, and if we had a garden in London then I would love some of those plants. Even though they're from such distant lands, they fit in anywhere, including the outskirts of Brighton. And that smaller one with all the tree-lined pathways looks like some enchanted wood out of a fairy story.

So, garden designers of Brighton, I've told you what you're doing right and wrong. I've told you that empty driveways are bad and exotic plants and grassy gardens are more attractive.  So this should suggest a logical course of action!
-DP :)