Greeting Spring in my Garden...A Dog's Eye-view!

When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited ~ Ramakrishna

Our daylight hours have been surreptitiously lengthening. Almost stealthily, the earliest signs of frivolous Spring have furtively crept into my garden. Dead wood has been transformed into demure blossom, enticing the sleepy bees to awaken from their wintry slumbers. The crisp, fresh air is scented with the intoxicating fragrance of Freesia and Jasmine. Birdsong fills daylight hours with soft, sweet refrain. My soul stirs in recognition and is nourished by this sweet enchantment.

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A dog has the soul of a philosopher ~ Plato

As the family's Resident Botanist, I, Coco, aged 6.5 months, have been tasked with sharing a few of the glorious sights greeting us in the garden right now. I am particularly captivated by all this beauty, as this is my very first experience of Spring. I am passionate about flowers and spend a good time each day sniffing as many as I can reach. I also like to dig out the odd specimen to add to my collection, but Desiree invariably discovers them and throws them away. I particularly enjoy tasting all the different plant materials. It's astounding how varied the different textures and aromas prove to be upon such close investigation! I carefully scrutinise and sample each branch, twig,  stem, leaf and petal, using my innate dissecting skills. To be fully appreciated, enjoyed and understood, Nature needs to be carefully and patiently observed. I am very patient and observant! In fact, my favourite quote is by Carolus Linnaeus: "Nature does not proceed by leaps and bounds!"

It is precisely for these reasons that I am the officially designated Botanist around here!  I have NO IDEA who said this, but I heartily agree..."In the beginning, God created man. But, seeing him so feeble, he created The Dog!" 


As dogs, we instinctively KNOW the truth of that old Zen proverb..."Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes and the grass grows by itself!" 


I have said ENOUGH...now, allow me, please, to SHOW you the glories of early Spring...as seen, in my garden, this weekend!

Dry twigs burst forth into frothy blossom on the Crab Apple tree.

Is there any sweeter perfume than Jasmine?

Aah! Fressias! I consumed many a leaf before witnessing this beautiful bloom!

The Clivias are coming into bud with a few early bloomers. Desiree gets quite upset when the boy dogs romp about amongst these plants, as they snap off the flowering heads in the bink of an eye.

This is one of my favourite flowers right now, because you really do have to get right down to its level to fully comprehend its exquisite beauty!

Most humans tend to walk right past...completely oblivious to the perfection unfolding at their ankles. It takes a Botanist such as I to really see into the soul of this Bromeliad.

This is a Confetti Bush...the tiniest little flowers...so beautiful...seen up close!

Pentas flowers...Oh, how the butterflies and bees love these!

Raphiolepis..not one of our indigenous plants, this one hails from Asia...but grows very well in our garden! The bees flock to these flowers and Bonny, my 10 year old canine sister, loves to eat bees, so this is one of her all-time, favourite plants.

Stattice, or Limonium, beginning to bloom for the long flowering season ahead. Being blue-flowered, it is one of Desiree's favourites. She is dotty about blue flowers, in case you didn't know that!

We have a very old Prunus tree planted on our pavement, at our gateway entrance. Linda always says once it's in bloom, she knows Spring has arrived. As this is my first Spring, I don't know that yet, but I'll be sure to watch it carefully, every single year at this time, hereafter!

It certainly IS a beautiful tree...so I coerced my Human Dad into going out there with his macro lens, yesterday. He took many, many pictures, too numerous for me to show them all to you, so I just selected a few...

Bonny was SO EXCITED to see all of the bees! We think part of her youthful nature is due to the many bees she consumes each Spring (or so I'm told!)

I love bees...but I have no inclination to eat them...yet! Bonny may still persuade me otherwise, though!

Aren't these little flowers perfect in every way?

Just look at the beautiful blue sky we had, yesterday...we had the same again, today!

One blossom open...several fat ones, ready to open, tomorrow! Sadly, when the wind blows, they fall very quickly...that's WHY we need to enjoy them, FULLY, for the brief time they come to beautify our world.

To humans, their scent is almost non-existent, but to me, they smell like heaven! I can smell honey and the promise of warm days in each and every blossom...just as the bees can!

One last look before we move on!

This little Viola is wearing a blue hat. Can you see her eyes, nose and mouth? Noodle LOVES these! She picks her own, then eats them.

This is a May Bush...called that, because it flowers in May in England. Our Spring is only in September, so by rights it should be known as September Bush in South Africa.  The flowers look like a bridal bouquet. Heathcliff has been showing a lot of interest in me of late...I'm wondering if he's going to bring me a posy of these sometime soon?

I love pink flowers...pink Camelias, pink Azaleas. I guess it's because I'm a girl! I hope Heathcliff gives me pink flowers, instead!

Also one of our Azalea bushes...just a deeper shade of pink.

You cannot believe how lovely these freesias smell. Apparently, Desiree's Mother gave her a few bulbs from her garden before they emigrated. Desiree says they have never failed to flower, year after year and the plants have multiplied from seed, even though they are bulbs. She finds them popping up all over. I have decided to stop eating these plants as they have sentimental value to Desiree.

Another Viola. We have lots of blue ones as well...Desiree cannot resist buying blue flowers when she pops along to the nursery.

I'm beginning to understand Heathcliff's sudden devotion to me, now. It must be due to the arrival of Spring! Love, it seems, is carried on the breeze...the birds feel it, the bees and butterflies know it! 6.5 year old Heathcliff must be the eternal Romantic, even though he was neutered at 6 months of age! Clearly, my great beauty, poise and slightly aloof behaviour, coupled with my deeply intuitive understanding of life and nature, have turned Heathcliff into a Lovestruck Fool! I wonder if it will last?