Summer in Bushy Park

It is easy to see how some of the beliefs of the dark ages tended toward magic of nature. There are some fascinating natural sites here. The trees in one area of the park (I do not recognize these trees) reminded me of a cathedral. It was magical how the wispy branches arch majestically over the forest floor, leafless until their tips in the canopy high above.

The green light filtering through the distant canopy as impressive as any that has ever been filtered through a pane of stained glass. I can see how the belief of the druids that these places are magical and sacred were formed. I believe they are as well. Nature cults aside, the park and its plants are showing me another side of the British aisles that I was not previously aware of. I am constantly amazed at the number of familiar plants that I see here. There are Day Lilies tucked into surprising corners of the garden; in the bends along the paths and in places delightful to find. I was even surprised to find that the gardens have magnolias in full bloom!

The magnolias bring me back to my days living in Tennessee where everyone had a magnolia on their block. The Daylilies remind me of South Carolina where there are fields of them and every small town has at least one person who has made a cottage industry of collecting, raising and selling them.

Wherever I look here, I am reminded of home. Perhaps I have been spending too much time in the United Kingdom!

I hope you feel at home wherever you are today!

Don Bergquist - 30-July-2005 - Hampton Court, United Kingdom