May
There’s no mistaking it now. Spring is here and with it a sense of renewal. I remember living in Sweden as a child and whilst the winter months can be unmistakably dreary, come May the promise of swimming in the lakes, evenings spent cooking hotdogs over a campfire and walks in the forest is enough to lift anyone’s spirits.
My grandparents were great lovers of the outdoors and for me May brings back memories of coffee and cake on the veranda at their wooden ‘stuga’ in the woods and the great tending to and nurturing of their fabulous flower garden, which would burst into full bloom in the summer months.
May can be truly beautiful in Scandinavia and for nature lovers there is definitely a lot to inspire this time of year. Labour day on May 1st is a national holiday and is often an opportunity for Swedes to visit their ‘sommar stugor’ for the first time since the cold weather and to revel in the great outdoors.
For those of you who are green fingered then April / May is the time to start preparing your gardens and sowing your vegetables. The prospect of summer outdoor dining and picking carrots fresh from the ground is well worth the effort now.
