Kissing is in Season!

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) has never been one of my favourite evergreen plants. I learned at a tender age that it's an extremely spiny shrub so can be an 'uncomfortable' screen when needing to spend a penny on a walk. Ouch!

It's also invasive and its blooms have a coconut fragrance. Odd! Moreover, its principal offence in my eyes is simply that it's flowers are yellow. Yuk! Unlike pollinating insects, I really don't like yellow, and yet, in the same way that cheery daffodils can raise a smile, so too did this gorse against a vivid blue sky in the Goldings estate this morning. Thus it has partially redeemed itself.

According to the RSPB it is also a refuge and nesting site for several birds.

I have also read this afternoon that 'when gorse is in bloom, kissing is in season. Gorse is never really out of flower, so there will always be time for kissing!' (Edenproject.com) That made me laugh too.