Bright herald of spring

Every year the first sign that spring was around the corner was seeing the yellow jasmine flowers blooming slowly but surely wherever the pretty bush could be found, making a bright splash of colour amid the brown and dusty surroundings. The leaves and flowers on other trees came later. This year we have had a late winter and the cold has been more severe than usual with cloudy days, so the yellow jasmine was also late in appearing as it needs sunshine to blossom. A number of flowering shrubs and trees that herald spring beat the bright yellow flower this spring! 

Another reason that we hardly ever see the yellow jasmine in public places though it blooms in profusion in private homes and gardens that belong to institutions is because it has been chopped mercilessly by gardeners of civic authorities. They cut away the long fronds which hold the flowers leaving the bushes looking stunted and ugly and someone should tell them it’s wrong to do so and spoil their beauty!

Wherever this bright flower is spotted it is a cheerful and spirit uplifting sight, especially as the trees and other bushes are still quite bare and give a dusty and faded look to the green belts. While this pretty flower has no scent as such – its bright colour makes up for this deficiency - it grows on a hardy plant and blossoms for about a month or six weeks, new flowers replacing the old to keep the shrub looking as beautiful as it appears at it first blooming. Thereafter the bush remains green and is still good to look at, - especially if it is allowed to grow freely – and it makes a nice backdrop to other flowers if you have a big garden and need to cover the space in a pretty and aesthetic manner.