1st May is Beltane, a time to celebrate the spirit of nature as she bursts from bud into full bloom. With such a cold, wet start to spring this year, our blossom was almost 3 weeks later than 2017 for coming into flower. Worth the wait, as always!

This is the time of year when the dawn chorus is particularly vibrant. I am and early bird myself, and love to listen out for the first blackbird singing as the dawn light shines. Quickly joined by the other garden birds, it becomes a symphony of sound like no other, heralding the day and calling nature into life – literally.

Gregorian Chants include over 150 harmonic combinations of these frequencies. Birdsong contains harmonic combinations of the Solfeggio Frequencies too. In your own garden, the birdsong you hear will be a unique harmonic symphony, singing especially for your own benefit and healing. If you do not live around nature, google Solfeggio Frequencies, there are some beautiful YouTube soundscapes to listen to.

Other research has been done on flower and fruit crops, where music has been composed at the same frequency as the dawn chorus. Tests on organic apple farms began to note significantly increased fruit harvests when this music was played to the trees. And there is yet more research using Vivaldi’s Spring movement from The Four Seasons, and Bach’s violin sonatas being broadcast by Ottawa University researchers to a wheat field, which obtained remarkable crops with 66% greater yield than average, with larger heavier seeds.

I first came across some research into the effect of birdsong on seed germination and plant growth when studying my Flower Essence Diploma 20 years ago. The research demonstrated that playing birdsong to seeds quickened the germination time and led to better quality seedlings with a higher flower/fruit yield further down the growing line. Seeds deprived of birdsong struggled to grow.

I then went on to learn about the Solfeggio Frequencies, which make up the ancient 6-tone scale used in sacred music, including the beautiful Gregorian Chants. The main six Solfeggio Frequencies are each connected with a frequency of thought and emotion. Being exposed to these frequencies has a healing effect on mind and body, allowing your heart centre to experience peace, your mind to be clear and calm and for your spirit to feel free. The 6 frequencies are:

396 Hz – Releasing fear and guilt

417 Hz – Unravelling destructive imprints

528 Hz – Transformation, known as the love frequency

639 Hz – Opening your consciousness

741 Hz – Freedom of expression

852 Hz – Reconnection to universal soul wisdom

Late last Autumn I planted a test bed of tulips to observe their colour and size up close. Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener at Great Dixter - www.greatdixter.co.uk recommended planting a few of each tulip you want to grow to be able to see how long the stems are, how the leaves spread, how the flowers grow, in order to then plan where to put them for optimum show amongst other plants. Well worth doing for the excellent quality bulbs I bought from www.avonbulbs.co.uk I now know how I will use them next year, and how they look it test floral designs (all glorious!).

I’m growing some flowers for the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in July 2018 as part of the Flowers From The Farm display promoting British flowers. I’m one of their 500+ nationwide members, see my page on their website by clicking on the logo. Also look at Find Flowers on their menu for British flower growers local to you.

Here are some of my spring floral bouquets. All flowers and greenery are from the garden.

Pink Cherry Blossom essence To embrace change with ease, to walk through the seasons of life without resistance. Click the picture to buy.

Umbrella Cherry essence To stand firm in lightness regardless of what is thrown at you. Click the picture to buy.

Yellow Tulip essence For channelling and fine tuning one’s senses. Click the picture to buy.