Nature's Timepiece - The Garden

Seconds, hours, even days

Pass unnoticed and unclaimed;

But the weeks and months of the year

Are marked by the colour of the clothes you wear.

Tick tock, tick tock

What colour is the garden frock?

The skeleton of the hard winter

Landscape is naked and bare,

The colour faded from your flowery

frocks and foliage hair;

But in the cold hardness nature's 

timepiece still beats there,

Preparing the season's fashions for another year.

Tick tock, tick tock

Winter is the colour of the garden frock.

Yellow is the colour of the garden drape

That dresses the skeleton of the hard winter landscape,

Pale, fresh foliage bravely spears the ground

As daffodils, crocuses, pansies and tulips are found.

Tick tock, tick tock,

Spring is the colour of the garden frock.

Tubs of colour provide a strong steady beat

Pink lavertia striking out from beneath,

Geraniums resplendent in red,

Alpines and aubrietia tumble from the edge

As hanging baskets sway to and fro,

The pendulum marking time as we go.

Tick tock, Tick tock,

Summer is the colour of the garden frock.

Oranges, reds, yellows and browns tumble at your feet

Apples, blackberries, peaches and pears,

The fruits of your labour for the harvest feast,

Dressed in your mourning clothes,

Watching your life expire 

Time cruelly marking your age as bonfires crackle like a funeral pyre.

Tick tock, Tick tock,

Autumn is the colour of the garden frock.

Sue Evans