The cherry tree is something the same， but more sturdy. Now， in the last week of April， the cherry blossom is still white， but waning and passing away： it is late this year， and the leaves are clustering thick and softly copper in their dark blood-filled glow. It is queer about fruit trees in this district. The pear and the peach were out together. But now the pear tree is a lovely thick softness of new and glossy green， vivid with a tender fullness of apple-green leaves， gleaming among all the other green of the landscape， the half-high wheat， emerald， and the grey olive， half-invisible， the browning green of the dark cypress， the black of the evergreen oak， the rolling of the heavy green puffs of the stone-pines， the flimsy green of small peach and almond trees， the sturdy young green of horse-chestnut. So many greens， all in flakes and shelves and tilted tables and round shoulders and plumes and shaggles and uprisen bushes， of greens and greens， sometimes blindingly brilliant at evening， when the landscape looks as if it were on fire from inside， with greenness and with gold.
In the wood， the scrub-oak is only just coming uncrumpled， and the pines keep their hold on winter. They are wintry things， stone-pines. At Christmas， their heavy green clouds are richly beautiful. When the cypresses rise their tall and naked bodies of dark green， and the osiers are vivid red-orange， on the still blue air， and the land is lavender； then， in mid-winter， the landscape is most beautiful in colour， surging with colour.
Not that this week is flowerless. But the flowers are a little lonely things， here and there： the early purple orchid， ruddy and very much alive， you come across occasionally， then the little groups of bee-orchids， with their ragged concerted indifference to their appearance. Also there are the huge bud-spikes of the stout， thick flowering pink orchid， huge buds like fat ears of wheat， hard-purple and splendid. But already odd grains of the wheat-ear are open， and out of the purple hangs the delicate pink rag of floweret. Also there are very lovely and choice cream-clouted orchids with brown spots on the long and delicate lip. These grow in the more moist places， and have exotic tender spikes， very rare-seeming. Another orchid is a little， pretty yellow one.