At Bay

Life constantly throws new experiences at us, sometimes we may think that our jobs are repetitive and boring, and then they will throw something up that we have never come across before.   Of course I am very lucky in that I enjoy my job, that's not to say I wouldn't enjoy a day off every now and then, I have something new most days, but yesterday I did see something I have never seen before.



Most of us with gardens, or an interest in food will be familiar with bay trees, now there is a good reason why they are called bay trees! I have seen them grow to over 40 foot tall, yet we still have the habit of planting them close to our houses!  

Before

We are used to seeing them nicely clipped into columns or lollipops, often grown in pots or tubs and kept to a constant size.   Being evergreen they quite ornamental, the leaves give a lovely scent and of course they taste good!   The Bay is in fact part of the Laurel family, it is bay leaves that were used for the "Laurel" wreaths that Olympic athletes were crowned with and that Roman generals wore for their triumphs, I suspect that this is one reason they are known as Laurus Nobilis.   It is also the source of the word Laureate!

After

Well yesterday I was with a customer I visit maybe once every three or months, usually just to do a bit of tidying up.   On my last few visits I have trimmed the bay tree growing in her back garden, trying to keep it in proportion to the size of the garden, and keep a nice "standard" ball shape.

These two pictures were from last year, yesterday I saw something new on this tree, whether as a response to my ministrations, the weather or just my lack of observation on other occasions.

"My" tree

The tree is in flower!  Not a great drift of blossom, but lovely small fragrant white flowers, now I want to know why there are none on my tree at home!

Stock photo from internet