Mad with joy

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us. ~Iris Murdoch, A Fairly Honourable Defeat












One of the many blisses in my life this spring is being surrounded by flowers. The two pink ones are about the size of the ball of my thumb, and for this photo have been pried open from their usual shy and dull outside appearance. Almost invisible when in bloom on the Port Wine tree, they are one of the strongest scented flowers I know, pumping the smell of bubblegum twenty metres or more. They are in bloom right now, in abundance at the Hamilton Botanical Gardens.

The purple flower plucked from some kind passion-vine is enormous, almost 15cm in diameter. But no smell to speak of. Just a crazy, big, look-at-me flower which is clamouring for attention at Te Horo this month.