Alam Sekitar

Maksud ayat dari Surah Al-Baqarah,

[164]

Sesungguhnya pada kejadian langit dan bumi; dan (pada) pertukaran malam dan siang; dan (pada) kapal-kapal yang belayar di laut dengan membawa benda-benda yang bermanfaat kepada manusia; demikian juga (pada) air hujan yang Allah turunkan dari langit lalu Allah hidupkan dengannya tumbuh-tumbuhan di bumi sesudah matinya, serta Ia biakkan padanya dari berbagai-bagai jenis binatang; demikian juga (pada) peredaran angin dan awan yang tunduk (kepada kuasa Allah) terapung-apung di antara langit dengan bumi; sesungguhnya (pada semuanya itu) ada tanda-tanda (yang membuktikan keesaan Allah kekuasaanNya, kebijaksanaanNya, dan keluasan rahmatNya) bagi kaum yang (mahu) menggunakan akal fikiran. 

[165]

(Walaupun demikian), ada juga di antara manusia yang mengambil selain dari Allah (untuk menjadi) sekutu-sekutu (Allah), mereka mencintainya, (memuja dan mentaatinya) sebagaimana mereka mencintai Allah; sedang orang-orang yang beriman itu lebih cinta (taat) kepada Allah. Dan kalaulah orang-orang yang melakukan kezaliman (syirik) itu mengetahui ketika mereka melihat azab pada hari akhirat kelak, bahawa sesungguhnya kekuatan dan kekuasaan itu semuanya tertentu bagi Allah, dan bahawa sesungguhnya Allah Maha berat azab seksaNya, (nescaya mereka tidak melakukan kezaliman itu). 

Sengaja saya mulakan dengan 2 ayat dari surah Al-Baqarah di atas sebelum menampal artikel mengenai keindahan musim bunga di bawah. Jika pembaca tidak mahu bacapun artikel di bawah ini, cukup hanya dengan melihat bunga-bunga tersusun indah seperti hamparan permaidani dapat mendamaikan jiwa, itupun jika anda berjiwa halus,

Magnificent displays of bluebells break out... but most of us will have to wait as the bloom is the latest in 15 years

Woodlands carpeted with bluebells are one of the sights of spring - but the harsh winter means the displays are set to be up to three weeks late this year, experts said yesterday.

Bluebells are among the spring flowers - along with magnolias and daffodils - blooming late this year because of the unusually sustained cold weather the UK has suffered in the past few months.

However Easter Sunday was surprisingly sunny and with forecasters predicting a fine week of weather ahead with temperatures up to 15C, it looks like spring has finally sprung.

According to the National Trust bluebells, which require light and warmth coming into the forest floor to trigger growth, are normally at their height around late April or early May.

Worth the wait: Bluebells are likely to be three weeks later than usual this year because of the unusually harsh winter

In recent years they have been coming into bloom earlier as a result of milder winters and early springs - peaking as early as April 1 in west Cornwall where they flower first.

But with a cold spring, which has seen snow hitting many parts of the country in the last few days, bluebells are not likely to be in full bloom until around mid May this year.

If so, it will be latest peak in flowering for the plant since 1996, the National Trust said.

And rather than the usual 'Mexican wave' of bluebell displays spreading up from the south west towards more northern and eastern parts of the country, the woodland flowers are more likely to bloom at once in a shorter burst.

The arrival of displays could also be patchy and dependent on where the woods are located - such as high up or on exposed ground.

In bloom: The National Trust will set up a 'bluebell watch' web page to inform nature lovers of the best displays

But they are finally on their way, according to the trust's gardens adviser for Devon and Cornwall, Ian Wright.

And to help people find where and when the best displays are near them, the trust will be setting up a 'bluebell watch' page on its website.

'Bluebells are the iconic plant of spring. There's hardly anything better than walking through some nice woodland full of bluebells,' Mr Wright said.

But bluebells could be at risk from a changing climate prompting trees to come into leaf earlier, reducing the time the flowers have to bloom before the tree cover shuts out the light they need.

A duck walks through the daffodils in the National Trust gardens of Stourhead

The plant also faces a more immediate threat in the form of Spanish bluebells, an invasive species which has escaped from gardens and interbreeds with the native bluebell to produce a hybrid.

Unlike our natural species in the UK, which contains half of the world's wild bluebells, the Spanish bluebells are scentless and do not have the same deep blue colour.

Mr Wright said the website would also help raise people's awareness of their environment.

Observations from walkers about where and when the bluebells were flowering could also prove valuable for recording what was happening to the natural world.

A woman wanders through the clusters of daffodils at Stourhead House

And he said: 'We shouldn't take for granted what naturally occurs in the country - this is one of the things we can't replicate, that fantastic bluebell wood.

'We are good gardeners, but can we compete with Mother Nature? No,' he said.

Around a quarter of the National Trust's woodland is ancient or semi-natural, providing good habitat for bluebells.

Places such as Ashridge in Hertfordshire, Blickling Hall in Norfolk, Allen Banks in Northumberland, Chirk Castle in north Wales and Rowallane in Northern Ireland are all good bluebell spots - though people will have to wait a little longer than normal to see them this year.