Winter Flowers

In the burial ground that surrounds St Andrews church just below us on the hill, amid the monuments and plinths and urns and tombs, a lone cherry tree is in flower. It's not a recent flowering: it's been producing its....

....delicate pink blooms since before Christmas, this despite temperatures as low as -5C, two or three dustings of snow, and some fairly windy weather.

It's a remarkable achievement, particularly as one always associates cherry with flowering with the first warm days of spring.

It isn't alone in its efforts to cheer up these grey mid-winter days with a splash of colour. We have a few pansies in our front garden which are still stubbornly displaying their flowers, along with a couple of misembianthimums and three snapdragons.

To all of them.... Thank you!