Osmanthus decorus

Leaving Scotland’s driest and sunniest month of March since 1929 for the east winds that turned the balmy high teen temperatures we had been used to for 10 or more days for snow storms and freezing nights was not pleasant.

Looking across the wet grey slates of the new Town the Pentland Hills gained a covering of snow overnigOsmanthus decorusht on the 2nd April. Daffodils were blown horizontal and the spring blossom took a battering. Visitor numbers fell from thousands a day to hundreds a day on Tuesday 3rd.

Add in an overnight frost and then count the cost of planting out semi tender bedding too early in the season. “One swallow does not make a summer” a proverb dating back to the 16th century that is just as relevant in the 21st.

All is not lost; in a sheltered corner near the Palm House the pervading sweet scent of Osmanthus decorus is a reminder that some things thrive in the face of adversity.