Young country diary: The view from the top of the magnolia tree

Hertfordshire: I'm climbing up the sturdy boughs like I do every spring, velvety buds all around me waiting to bloomEver since I was tiny, I've loved climbing the magnolia tree in our front garden. Today is no different. The magnolia isn't in full bloom yet, even though it flowers early. It's waiting, the first tips of creamy-white flowers just showing through velvety, army-green buds.The branches shiver in the wind, the frigid air whispering a warning of frost. I worry. Frost means the blooms will die before they are even fully out. Will this be the last moment I get among the flowers this year? Some flowers are already dying, their soft silk petals turning brown and brittle. Continue reading...