delicate colours

delicate (adj.) – very fine in texture or structure; of intricate workmanship or quality / dainty / graceful / elegant

I suppose we think of delicate colours as those that are very pale; pastels, ethereal, soft. So I had a look around the lanes and my walk along George V yesterday to try and capture some of that softness that surrounds us in May. Blossom abounds during this month and now Hawthorn (May blossom) takes front stage. Not only does it have delicate flowers, but a delicate scent pervades the air in the warm sunshine.

And if you look carefully at a flower you can see how intricate the design often is. Take the header flower for instance- Aquilegia (Granny’s Bonnet) come in all shades from the darkest purple to the purest white, but each and every one has the delicate nodding bonnet-shaped flower heads and the spurred petals of their flowers which are often two-toned.

(Please click on an image to enlarge)

Nigella damascena (above) have the most delicate and fragile looking flowers and foliage and yet they are very strong plants. Even the common name given to them “Love-in-a -mist” conjours up delicacy. And the colours range from deep blues through to rose and white.

Phlomis italica ‘Pink Glory’ is a pastel symphony of felty grey leaves and whorls of flowers in palest pink. How can you resist stroking those leaves?

And just look at those delicate hairs on the end of the foxglove tubular flowers, just waiting for a bee to land and follow the patterned path to the nectar hidden inside.

Blossom, dainty nodding heads, intricate patterns, newly unfurled fronds of ferns and soft textures – this month abounds with delicate colours. And I don’t have far to see some as this is how the lanes in Cornwall look at the moment – full of the frothy heads of Cow Parsley entwined with the pink Red Campion and the pinky-purple of native Foxgloves.