First flowers for the house

I love the first vase of fresh flowers.   This time it’s a rather pale and wan bunch of tulips that I have growing below the potting shed.   They were a mystery gift of bulbs from a box proferred by the goat cheese lady at Vernoux market.

I appreciate them less for their colour than the fact they are first up of all the tulips.   And I don’t feel guilty about picking them.   I must remember to order more bulbs next year purely for the house.   The ones in the garden have to work so hard to impress the eye, I feel guilty picking them.

We’ve had the summer time change of the clocks and it has quite thrown me. Not even 4pm and I’m done outdoors for the day.   The drizzle (yes, it’s rain) has beaten me.