When I was a small girl, there was a low gate at the end of our garden and sometimes Dad would take us through that gate to play in the woods beyond. Even now I see the bluebells and primroses in my mind's eye, soft colour and delicate blooms spread like a dainty pastel carpet over muddy banks. In those days of childhood innocence, my sister and I would pick posies of woodland flowers, clutching them proudly as we took them home muddy footed, for Mum to keep in a glass milk bottle on the kitchen windowsill. They were the happy days of childhood, days when the woods were full of magic and adventures.
Fast forward more than half a century and I don't mind telling you, one of my favourite walks of the year is still through the woods in Spring. A twisty stroll among nodding bluebells, shy primroses and tree branches bursting with tiny new green leaves, brings with it a beautiful peace ... one that can only be truly gifted by Mother Nature.
These days I preserve precious childhood memories through my creativity, weaving the beauty of those first spring flowers into my teddy bear designs to share with collectors, so that they too, can feel the gift of a timeless Spring, bursting with beauty and hope for the future.
