I am entranced with the light in the Woodland Garden.
When mist enfolds the wood, the camellia shines softly.
I remembered it because it made me laugh and also presents a deep and pertinent truth. It is especially relevant in today's difficult times.
It set me thinking about when you have goals, visions that take a tremendous amount of effort to achieve, that are so much bigger than your self and your meagre resources.
How energizing it is to get encouragement and affirmation! And how different from being told to be 'realistic' and let go of cherished dreams. I feel such tremendous gratitude toward those who have been great sources of strength to me over the years.
Last year I received a tiny oak tree rescued from a friend's garden. It would have been thrown away in their big clear-up, so she gave it to me.
I planted it safely in an old earthenware pot. (Yesterday's nut in a cracked pot!)
It looked so small and vulnerable, yet I can imagine gazing up at it in years to come ...
One day it will be a mighty oak!
A last view of historic Durham Cathedral before walking back into the city!
A group of people gathered at the Botanic Garden yesterday evening for a Moonwatch. This year is the International Year of Astronomy, (so I've just discovered!), and this was an associated activity.
The intention had been to look at the moon through the telescopes. This was not to be! By the close of the evening the mist was so thick we could hardly see beyond the glasshouses. How glad we were that the cafe had specially opened to serve hot chocolate, tea and coffee!And another treat was in store ...
Peter Edwards from the Physics Department of the University of Durham gave a marvellously inspiring talk about astronomy and the universe.
His presentation included a simulated journey through real space, past stars, nebulae and galaxies. I found it awe-inspiring to learn that if you took every grain of sand from every beach and every desert on Earth, you would have an idea of how many stars there are in the universe!
Contemplating all this later, I thought how it could have made my life and everyone or everything I know and care about seem insignificant. Not so - it had the opposite effect ... The awesome beauty and vastness of the universe magnified for me the infinite value of all those things on earth we hold dear. The ordinary-extraordinariness of love and life.
The sun went behind clouds at around 6 pm, and the colours changed to more bluish hues. Whatever the light conditions, Primrose Heron seems to retain a striking luminosity.
I love the furry texture - you can see why it has the Lambs' Ears nickname! In each leaf there is such a variety of colour, from white, cream and yellow to green, which all changes depending on the direction of the light.
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Later in the year it will have mauvish flower-spikes, and usually sprawls over the edge of the lawn, which I rather like!
I love to plant it next to very different foliage. Here the red grass Uncinia rubra gives such an exciting contrast of colour, texture and shape.
