Hawthorn

Common hawthorn is in full flower, including some of those rather pretty pink varieties. An Old Scottish proverb dating to at least 1732 states:

Ne'er cast a cloot til Mey's oot

Translated- do not vast off your winter clothing till May is out.

May was rather chilly, and my thicker, winter jumpers were briefly resurrected. The proverb may be alluding to the Hawthorne, which is sometimes called the May Bush, which typically flowers then. Our colder spring persuaded it to flower in June. Seeing those lovely flowers is a sure sign that winter’s icy grasp is ended and that summer’s joy is come at last. Isaiah 28:1 speaks of lovely flowers beginning to fade, just as ancient Ephraim’s splendour also dims:

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,

Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower

Which is at the head of the verdant valleys…

We know that hawthorn heralds summer, but its flowers will someday fall, as will, in time, its leaves. Though summer follows winter, so winter follows summer. We Christians look forward to that eternal summer of God’s coming kingdom:

In that day the Lord of hosts will be

For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty

To the remnant of His people,

For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,

And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (Isaiah 28:5-6)