Darling Buds of May

Sometimes my northern hemisphere origins betray me.  My first thought when I noticed all the pink buds in the garden was "darling buds of May" although this expression only makes sense if you are north of the equator.

 Camellia

 Standard rose (curiously the buds are pink but the flowers are white)

Azalea



In fact the expression was first used by Shakespeare in one of his sonnets:

"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
And summer's lease hath all too short a date."

Nowadays it is said to mean an appreciation of what is fresh and new.

That works better for me.