Unreliable excursions

You have to get the timing right in garden travel. I went to Tasmania, full of hope. To see a misty purple haze of lavender fields. To see a dog snuffling for truffles in an oak orchard. To see a field of poppy heads ready to be harvested for opioids. To see pink rows of crocus flowers ready to be plucked for saffron. Saw none. Saw a lot of apples though.

Take trying to catch the cherry blossoms in Japan. There’s about a three day window in any one city – and that’s providing there’s no wind or rain to knock them about. You can download a map that purportedly shows them opening as spring travels north through the islands. But what day do you book your flight? And to which city? It’s a gamble.

Fortunately some garden destinations are more reliable. The tulips in Holland. The grand estate gardens of Britain. The fall in Vermont. But try to catch the wildflowers in WA. Wooh, those dates are tricky. And there’s a lot of territory to cover. But if you nail it, lucky you. What a sight.

October 2018