Primavera

We have primroses in abundance, growing in the grass verge outside our place, and along the foot of the hedgerow and ditch by the roadside, and with the warmer weather this week is a sure indicator that while spring is here, summer is only just round the corner.
Years ago, I remember as a youngster accompanying my grandmother to a park with woodland not too far from where she lived. The object — to pick primroses. I remember she always took a ball of wool with her so that when she and I had picked a handful she could tie their stems to form a posy, without damaging the delicate stalk of the primrose.
She had a big garden by today’s standards, which granddad had mostly planted to vegetables, but with generous lawn as well and a few trees. Yet no primroses grew there.
Our garden is much smaller, but not only do we have primroses in the grass verge by the roadside, there are still more in our borders and in our grass, so this time of year we have plenty to brighten the day simply by looking out of the window.
Yet I recall fondly those trips to the park, and the laborious forming of the bunches and the care shown with the strands of wool.  If we were lucky, we would collect sufficient posies to fill a shopping basket and take them back to grandma’s place, where she would carefully place them round the house.

Aaaah, Memories!