The Garden of Songbird Charm

In the garden of songbird charm Robin and Claire were doing some bird spotting. Robin had recently acquired a pair of folding binoculars, and he had already spotted a golden oriole, rare in England and a delight to behold. He also loved its linked musical triplets when it sang.

Robin and Claire lived in a large, dormer bungalow, to which their garden was attached at the rear of the property. On a beautiful summer's day, like it was today, the garden was like a paradise; an oasis of suburban charm. Laid out with beds of annual flowers and roses, and having a pool and rockery near the bottom. Rock pools above this , which cascaded down to the pool proper, were a haven for birds wishing to bathe.

At the moment a goldfinch was taking a bath. With its red, black, golden-yellow and white markings it was a handsome bird. Sometimes songbirds had a bath too: nightingales, mistle thrushes, robins and blackbirds, all preened their feathers in the sparkling waters; the spray forming rainbows in the sunlight.

Robin and Claire, ten and eight years old respectively, were tending their own patch of garden near the greenhouse. In it grew sweet peas, climbing up a wigwam of canes, runner beans, lettuce, rosemary and parsley, nasturtium and marigolds. Claire loved marigolds and would pick bunches of them to give to her mother.

Robin grew tomatoes in the greenhouse, cucumbers and red and green peppers. Both children loved to speak to Ned, daddy's gardener, who would give them many tips and was full of helpful advice. Ned was about twenty five years of age, had a strong, manly body with thick, black hair on his head and he had handsome features.

Ned knew all about plants, but also knew about the garden creatures. The garden was surrounded by tall, privet hedges and at the base of them was a family of hedgehogs. Robin had named the hedgehogs Mr and Mrs Bristle and their two children Pot and Tot.

Ned had also set up a bug hotel, so all sorts of insects had visited, and this amused Robin more than Claire. He loved nasty creatures, but Claire was repulsed, yet fascinated too to see them wriggling and crawling about. Next to the bug hotel stood Mr Peg, Claire's gnome, standing guard. Just then a charm of finches flew overhead, followed by a chattering of choughs. Robin and Claire loved to see them flying high, with Robin studying them through his binoculars.

Concluded in Part Two