Spring

Beaded
Originally uploaded by borealnz

After a long damp winter spring has arrived here at last, or at least the calendar says it has. Our mornings are getting lighter and it's only a month until daylight saving starts again.The garden is finally getting dry enough to work, though the rain forecast over the next couple of days will set things back again.

These muscari or what I've always called match heads or grape hyacinths are among the first spring flowers in my garden, they form large clumps and their long straggly grass-like foliage can be a nuisance but their wonderful blue colour more than makes up for any shortcomings. I love their triangular shape and the spiralling pattern of the florets up the stem. They always look like miniature blue trees to me.

I've never particularly noticed their fragrance but they are supposed to smell of wet starch or plums depending on what reference you read, and have been used in the past to flavour rhubarb pies; not something I would be keen to try. The bulbs are poisonous.