Currently, they are all standing to attention like Busby Berkeley showgirls shimmering in lime coloured costumes; along the A8, the motorway that runs parallel to the Côte D’Azur, the hills and villages beyond, as far as you can strain your eyes to see.
The maize lining of the green clusters is peeping through its branches and in less than a week – just like the show stopping highlight when part of original dance costume is coming off, it will be all yellow and the mimosa trees will be in bloom. Or as the horticultural pendant will point out the “Acacia dealbata will be in bloom” – poor thing, it is not considered a true mimosa.
In Mandelieu-La Napoule a street parade will celebrate these flowers with fantastic floats and floral designs. Across the border in Italy, a little later on March 8th, bouquets of mimosas will be given to women as part of the International Women’s Day.
Two years ago, the vicious summer fires destroyed a large number of these trees, stripping the yellow and green and rendering it down to a rustic black. But contrary to its name, which seems to suggest a reticent weakness, the mimosa just grew back and nonchalantly covered the view in a blanket of sunburst blossoms.
The arrival of these millions of little suns is the confirmation we don’t need but crave after months of rain and greyish skies: spring is nearly here.
