In the Wild

One of the many jokes about the weather that we have in Ireland is that here we have four distinct seasons... and you often get to experience all four of them in one day. So it can be hard to tell when Spring has finally arrived. One can be sitting outside in a t-shirt in February only to be huddled by the fire in sweaters in April.

For me, the sure sign of Spring is when the blackthorn flowers. Blackthorn is a wild hedgrerow shrub, with two inch long thorns and a bad reputation with the locals. However in early Spring, before the first leaves have opened, blackthorns in fields and hedgerows everywhere explode with an incredibly delicate, translucent white blossom. The individual flowers are quite tiny, maybe only a centimetre across, but every branch is covered in blooms, turning whole hedges into banks of blossom, almost shockingly beautiful set against the bare branches of hazel and ash.

Blackthorn is a hardwood and our friend Gabriel Casey harvests the timber and makes beautiful chairs and tables. Those of you who have visited may have sat in one of his rocking chairs in the Tearooms. In the Autumn blackthorn produces a small, very tart, blue berry called a sloe. Sloe gin is made by collecting the berries, pricking their skins and then filling bottles with berries, sugar and gin and allowing them to steep for six months. Very delicious.

Beneath the blackthorn another herald of Spring is the primrose. Right now the Burren is full of primroses: solitary flowers in the shady woodland floor, clumps scattered across the rocky fields and drifts of them spilling down roadside banks. We use small amounts of wild primrose in our herbal teas for its calming and soothing properties.

Early mornings here are full of birdsong. We sit out on the roof at six or seven in the morning when it's sunny and listen to everyone announcing that they've survived the night and staking their claims to bush and tree. Grey crows, wood pigeons, doves and cuckoos (largest and loudest) and then the many tiny denizens of the brush: wrens, chaffinchs, blue and great tits, yellowhammers, sparrows and the ever-curious robin. We've put up lots of nesting boxes this year in the children's part of the garden so hopefully our young visitors will get to see these birds up close.

Naturally, you can't talk about Spring in the Burren without mentioning the Spring Gentian. These gentians were photographed beside our drive way, but I think to see them at their best it is worth hiking up onto the big plateau of Slieve Carran. One can't really describe it as carpeted with gentians, gentians are far too shy and retiring for that, but once you begin to notice these bright blue stars amongst the tight cropped winter grasses you realise that they are everywhere on the mountain. The hike up is not difficult and the views from the top are amazing. You can look down on the woods around Eagle's Rock where the hawthorns are like explosions of green amidst the white branches of ash, or turn North and look across Turloughmore mountain, Galway Bay and see the Twelve Bens in Connemara.

The first orchid of the year, the aptly named Early Purple is also out and about now. A week ago I spotted one or two emerging from the grasses; now they're everywhere. Slow down if you're driving here as most roadsides have a sprinkling of them. Off the beaten track, especially where it's damp, one can come across patches of them with dozens of blooms.

Finally, the Lesser Celandine, a yellow star in the woodlands. For some reason, this flower doesn't get mentioned often, so I include it to draw your attention to the hidden wonders of the shady woods. Enjoy them, especially in the Spring. For more pictures of flowers, see our new online guide.

Ralph Doyle