May: The beautiful month

Every year, I’m taken aback by the beauty in our island during the month of May.

When I was younger, autumn was my favourite season, but as I’ve got older, I realise there’s nothing quite as beautiful as springtime in full bloom. Trees, fields, gardens and hedgerows burst into life, as Mother Nature shows off her new season’s colour palette.

Selection of flowers from hedgerows and walls

From late April through May, garden and wild flowers bloom everywhere. Birds fly back and forth with twigs in their beaks, and bees busy themselves collecting pollen for their hives.
After a wet and windy winter, I’ve been making the most of the beautiful weather during the past few weeks. During the month of May, driving or walking around our little island, is therapeutic, especially when the sun is shining. I’m bowled over by the vibrant greens, bright yellows, and pretty pinks and purples that burst from fields and lean into the road.

Hawthorn, also known as Mayflower, bushes in full bloom

Thousands of buttercups

‘Buttercup’ in the buttercups

May is when Jersey Royal new potatoes are at their best. From early April, their dark green foliage starts popping up in fields all over the island - thousands of rows, everywhere.
I don’t mind admitting that I can have them three-four times a week and, in my opinion, they’re best when freshly dug, then boiled with a good sprig of mint and served with a generous knob of butter. They also taste great roasted or sauteed. Make sure they’re clean but don’t scrape off the skin.

Rows of new potato plants

Honesty boxes are all over the island

A classic roadside sight is the honesty box, from which farmers sell some of their produce. The name comes from the fact that it’s based on honesty. You stop at a box, pick up whatever produce you want and leave the correct amount of money in the tin. These cash tins used to be left unlocked, but, sadly, times have changed and due to a small number of thefts, most are now padlocked and secured.

All sorts of locally grown or bred produce are sold throughout the year e.g. Jersey Royals, asparagus, cauliflowers, daffodils, sunflowers, sausages, bacon and eggs. A young campaigner created the ‘Hedge Veg’ map, detailing roadside honesty box locations.

Hedgerows overflow with wild grasses and flowers

Sadly, I don’t see many ladybirds anymore

Jersey has hundreds of narrow lanes, which are simply beautiful at the moment. Grasses and wildflowers stretch out of the hedgerows with wild abandon into and over the roads. Most of these lanes are two-way, and often unnerve visitors to the island, especially those from places with wide highways.
There’s a large agricultural sector, so it’s not uncommon to come face to face with a tractor (or two or three) pulling a trailer.

To give drivers have half a chance of getting round a bend without some sort of incident, the gorgeous hedgerows are sadly cut back. I don’t know how this sort of thing is done in other parts of the world, but Jersey has its own unique way - ‘Branchage’ pronounced bron-carj. It means branches and derives from the Jèrriais (Jersey’s traditional language) word, Lé brancage (which spell check is desperate to change to ‘brain cage’).

So, what is Branchage?

It’s a law to ensure any vegetation overhanging roads and footpaths is cut back, to make it safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. You’d think that it’s quite straightforward and people simply cut back all flora and greenery.

Oh no! It’s taken much more seriously.

Specific heights are given and a time limit set, and in June and September inspections, known as Visites du Branchage take place in all 12 parishes. A group of parish officials called the Connétable, Vingteniers and Centeniers, as well as some of the island’s Roads Committee, go round the lanes and roads with a measuring stick!
If that doesn’t blow your mind, once every six years a Visite Royale occurs, where up to forty people from the Royal Court visit two parishes to inspect the public roads and footpaths.

Credit to Man vyi

Although it’s the countryside that looks its best at this time of year, the blues above and around us have seemed particularly vibrant over the past few weeks too. The night sky has been crisp and clear. Unfortunately, I’m no good at night photography, but I’ve seen some stunning shots recently.

So, if you want to visit somewhere beautiful, Jersey in springtime is hard to beat.