Apple Blossom
The pink froth that heralds late Spring and brought on my labour of Ivo. Plus how to dry apple blossom to make a beautiful tea.
It’s here. After a cold Spring the apple trees have finally awoken with their magnificent display of pink and white flowers. This is our third Spring in this garden and this week is always one of the highlights of the whole year. It’s a bit like a crescendo, slowly building as the apple trees start to bloom at different times. First the biggest apple tree in the middle of the orchard, then the discovery, the apples on dwarf stock roots, the Keswick and cooking apple in the kitchen garden, the russet and finally the crab apple and heritage apple.
Last year they had all burst into full bloom the evening before I went into labour with Ivo. I had walked around the garden, looking at the beautiful scene in the evening light which just filled my heart with joy and beauty. I think that peaceful walk around the garden is definitely what started my labour off. The oxytocin hit from the utter adoration of where we live and how lucky to have the life we do. I had a home birth the following morning and I went for a walk through the apple blossom at sunrise, just as I was entering established labour. Not long after that I retreated to my bedroom and I could see the apple trees from our window, hear my other two children happily playing outside and was supported inside by my husband, wonderful student midwife, Pam, and the two fantastic community midwives who I had had all of my prenatal appointments with. It all came together in the most beautiful way to lead Ivo earthside.
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