Seasonal | Pilgrim's Perch

Blue sky, blue flowers…

When the sun shines at last and the sky is that deep blue that cheers the soul there can be few pleasures that beat taking time out to lie on a rug on the grass and gaze up at the eternal expanse of sky high above…

Early civilisations thought that the sky was a dome. When it rained the water came through small holes in the dome – a bit like a colander or strainer you might use for draining water from cooked vegetables.

Scientific research into the evolution of sight reveals that humans probably first started making blue pigment about 4,000 BC. Though cave paintings date to about 20,000 years ago, none contain blue pigment, probably due to the lack of available blue colorants in plants, rocks, and other natural materials.

But Egyptians are thought to have developed blue pigment using lapis stone in about 2200 BC.

Blue rock from which stunning blue dyes could be made

The rare nature of the ingredients needed to create blue meant the color was reserved for the rich, royal and elites. This may have also caused blue to be associated with divinity, as it is in several Eastern cultures.

Traditionally, blue is a symbol of calm, serenity and peace, perhaps because of its associations with water and the sky. To Hindus, blue is the color of Krishna. Blue flowers symbolize the divine, as well as joy and love. In Judaism, blue hyacinths stand for constancy and sincerity. Blue roses stand for the impossible. For Buddhists, the blue lotus symbolizes intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, and the dominance of spirit over the senses. It’s often depicted as a partly opened bud. To Catholics, blue flowers are often associated with the Virgin Mary. Blue columbines are used in art to represent the Virgin’s sorrow in childbirth and connections with the Holy Spirit.

Mary wears blue to signify her place as Queen of Heaven

Turning your gaze earthwards – and see just how many blue flowers there are… Early spring will bring hyacinths and forget-me-nots. Later, delphiniums, hyssop and iris.

Lofty blooms of agapanthus create a dramatic show..

The globe-like flowers of agapanthus come in varied shades of blue

A field of blue flax., gently waving in the breeze.

Wind-wafted flowers of flax ripple like moving water

But one of my all-time favourites is Anagelis Sky Lover (what a name!). It overflows its pot and cascades in a fall of serene, intense blue and is simple to grow in a container and enjoy throughout the summer. It drops its seeds as autumn arrives and you may well find self-sown seedlings appearing the following spring in unexpected places. A joyful happenstance.

Intense Anagelis Sky Lover flowers overflowing their pot

The rich intense shades of blue may present us with an image of ‘heavenly blue’ but we need to keep ourselves grounded. The priest and author Angela Tilby writes,
‘Do not try to anticipate heaven in this life, but keep attending to the beauty that is here, with all its promise and its limitations.’

There is so much beauty around us – let us keep our eyes open and our senses alert…

The Arrival of Spring

In the northern hemisphere many people have found that the long drawn out winter has seemed endless. The 21st March brings the spring equinox, when the length of the daylight equals the length of the nightlight. There is a noticeable shift in the quality of the light, too.

A grey day hanging over from a long winter

The flat grey days of winter with occasional brilliant contrasting shafts of bright light when the sun does shine give way to a more intense sunlight with a real feeling of warmth.

Splashes of bright and dazzling sun at last

The wind, when it blows, can still be harsh; sleet showers can catch us unawares but more often than not the rain falls more gently, more softly. The birds are singing; their joyful songs can be heard more and more early in the morning, and they continue late into the evening.

Joyful scents, colours and textures of spring

Life is just bursting to get going again after the slack time of winter when all has seemed to be asleep. Out in the garden you can sense the change. One garden writer has said, ‘This is the real thing and by the end of March any sane person is in a state of intoxication, falling in love again with this strange world.’

And indeed it really is a time to get out into the open, to notice the changes the light and the weather undergo; to relish the scent of the spring air, the heady perfume from cut grass, pine resin, sudden floral outbursts from daffodils, hyacinths, violets and other wonderful spring flowers.

‘There is no time like spring, when life’s alive in everything’

The Apple of my Eye

A girl reaches along a branch to pick an apple — *Reaching out to pick an apple*

I will give my love an apple without any core;
I will give my love a house without any door;
I will give my love a palace wherein he may be
And he may unlock it without any key.
My head is the apple without any core;
My mind is the house without any door;
My heart is the palace wherein he may be
And he may unlock it without any key.

– words from a traditional English folk song. Now is peak apple season and the abundance of homegrown apples is welcome as autumn comes into its own, days grow shorter and cooler and winter peeps around the corner.

A box of red apples fresh from the orchard — *Apple bounty – ripened to perfection*

This is the time of year to try out a different apple from the many that are available. Did you know that there are over 7500 known apple varieties, 2500 of which were developed in the UK?

The names of apples alone create a wonderful litany – Greensleeves, Egremont Russet, Fiesta, Keswick Codlin, Lord Lambourne, Worcester Pearmain. And that’s just the ‘eaters’ or dessert apples! Add in cooking apples and cider apples and you get Bramleys Seedlings, Allington Pippin and the delightfully-named Brown Snout and Crimson King.

Ladder against apple tree for collecting ripe fruit — *An abundant harvest of apples*

It’s often said that, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ and apples have long been valued for their healing properties. As early as 8000BC apples were cultivated in the Nile, Tigris and Indus river valleys.

The Latin name for an apple is malum which also means ‘evil.’ This is believed to be the reason that the biblical Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden was an apple tree. An apple in the hand of Eve when she tempts Adam suggests mischief and evil, whereas when pictured in the hand of Christ, the apple symbolizes the fruit of life and salvation.

Apples, particularly their skins, are an excellent source of antioxidants, which are believed to prevent damage to cells and tissues and help defend the body from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and even possibly Alzheimer’s disease. It is thought that the flavonoids in apples help protect against allergens and viral infections and improve lung function.

Apples store well with care and provide a good source of fresh fruit when the luxuriant salad and vegetable crops of summer months have ceased. Legend has it that magicians such as Merlin and Talesin were said to carry a silver bough taken from the apple tree and hung with bells and ripened fruits. This allowed them to cross between worlds and times. The name ‘Avalon’ is believed to come from an old Irish word meaning ‘the place of apples.’

So relish this wonderful season of apples and enjoy the fact that they really can do you good!

A your lad walks along munching an apple — *Small boy enjoying the health-giving delights of a crunchy apple*