Spring has Sprung! GBBD April 2018.

The garden is bursting forth with the slightly higher temperatures and the sunshine we have had lately, each day brings new flowers for me to enjoy. It seems as though everything in the garden is trying to catch up with itself and forget all the snow, ice and torrential rain that we had during the dreadful month of March this year. however one plant that seems to have revelled in all the rain is the primrose family.

View from the landing window with primroses spreading everywhere.

The red stemmed cornus have been cut back leaving the primroses to get all the attention.

My wild ones in the front border by the drive have  multiplied as never before and are looking very happy indeed, so much so that I am now giving some away to various people in the village who don’t have any in their gardens.

Forget me nots have started flowering, they go so well with the primroses.

In the same border is a pretty camellia I think this one might be Margaret Davis.

The beautiful flowers are very like one of my hellebores, white with just a beautiful hint of pink round the edge.

Muscari enjoying life by the gatepost.

Bergenia Beethoven by the front door.

I’m amazed this tulip is still alive, the side border by the field is still under water. This was planted many, many years ago, along with lots of others, but this is the only survivor!

Double primrose under the pergola, I must split this one this year.

False oxlips get put under the pergola. This is the result of a cross between the primroses and the cowslips in the garden.

King cup or Caltha palustris enjoying all the wet and spreading nicely by the pond.

Its peak time for Camellias here.

Most of the hellebores are still looking good.

Pulmonaria in all the shady borders are proving to be a magnet for all the bees.

Narcissus Thalia are changing the garden back to white after all the yellow daffodils.

Colourful primulas peeping through Libertia peregrinans.

New camellia at the back of the meconopsis bed has settled in nicely.

Camellia, the first plant I planted here 28 yrs ago, is absolutely wonderful, it has flowered non stop since November!

Narcissus Sailboat is provideing interest in the meconopsis bed while waiting for the meconopsis to start growing. They are showing, but are very tiny at the moment.

My double Jack in the Green primrose, given to me by a friend, has shrugged off the awful weather and is sending out new flowers

Mahonia aquifolium is forming a good groundcover mat next to the shrubs in the back garden.

Japanese azalea on the rockery will soon be so covered with flowers, you won’t be able to see the leaves.

Narcissus Geranium has finally opened and joins in with St. Patrick on the left.

Hellebores still providing colour in the woodland.

Erythronium Pagoda looking really beautiful at the top of the side of the ditch by the woodland. Such fleeting flowers, but worth it!

Just one photo of Fritillaria meleagris as I have just done a post about them.

Camellia Jury’s Yellow in the woodland.

Still flowering in the woodland are a few clumps of Leucojum aestivum.

Anemone sylvestris, the wild wood anemone is slowly spreading on the woodland floor, making patches of lovely white flowers like little stars.

The wild wood anamone has been flowering for a while now, this one is A.Robinsoniana and has just opened to the sunshine. My little double one is still a long way from flowering.

I think this narcissus might be Mrs Backhouse, but I’m not sure.

Hyacinth Woodstock grown in pots, they would rot in my soil!

In the gravel area at the back is the large Euphorbia mellifera, with strange flowers that seem to be pollinated by flies. The perfume though is gorgeous, it smells of honey on the passing breeze.

Primula sibthorpii looking very much at home on the rockery, in the shade. I moved it from by the pergola last year and I think it prefers its new home.

Scilla sibirica looking lovely on the alpine scree in front of the rockery.

Anemone blanda growing in the gravel.

The first cowslips to flower, soon they will be flowering everywhere, their seed gets distributed far and wide.

Rosemary by the back door, I forgot to prune it back!

My old faithful chaenomeles by the back door is still flowering away, a fantastic plant.

Looking back at last months GBBD, there has been an explosion of colour in the garden, which has meant that on sunny days, the garden is full of bees, buzzing everywhere. The birdsong is beautiful as I wander around and I saw a Clouded Yellow butterfly yesterday, yes – Spring has arrived!

Thanks go to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this monthly meme, do pay her a visit and see what is bloomimg around the world.

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16 Responses to Spring has Sprung! GBBD April 2018.

  1. Alison says:

    Your garden is really exploding with flowers! Many of my Primulas have been chewed on by slugs and look terribly ragged. The cowslips, which hold their little flowers up high, usually manage to escape the damage. That Camellia with the pink edge is so pretty and delicate-looking.

    • Pauline says:

      At last, I think winter might be on its way out Alison! A few of the primroses have been chewed but as there are so many of them, they aren’t too noticable, thank goodness.

  2. Diana Studer says:

    It seems to be a spectacular year for primroses. Yours is the second lovely display I have seen blogged.

  3. Cathy says:

    Your garden does spring so well, Pauline, and it’s lovely to see all your blooms so thanks for sharing

    • Pauline says:

      It’s a pleasure Cathy,it is also my favourite time of year when everything is so new and fresh. I would be happy to skip July and August and go straight to autumn!

  4. Denise says:

    Pauline, it’s lovely to see how far your garden (and Spring) has progressed in such a short space of time. Over the years primulas in all their forms have become one of my favourites. I have just bought my first ever erythronium, White Beauty, now flowering in its pot in a snow free garden!

    • Pauline says:

      It’s quite unbelievable isn’t it Denise, just a couple of weeks ago we were under 9 inches of snow! The sun has made all the buds open and there are flowers everywhere. it’s wonderful!
      I too have Erythronium White Beauty but no flowers yet, she is in the woodland under a Rhododendron, I think I will move her once she has flowered as I don’t think she’s getting enough light. I have another, a pink one, Knighthayes Pink which is rather beautiful. I bought it from Knightshayes Court which is a local National Trust house just half an hour from here, they have the most fantastic woodland garden!

  5. debsgarden says:

    Your primrose border by the grove is a WOW! And so are your camellias. Your Fritillaria meleagris is a beauty, and I so wish I could grow fritillaries. You have a happy environment for spring-blooming g woodland plants. I recently saw my first butterfly of the season. I was delighted that it was a monarch.

    • Pauline says:

      Thanks Deb, I’m pretty impressed with my primroses too, they did it all by themselves, with no help from me! You need all our wet weather through the summer to make snakeshead fritillaries feel at home, it’s nice to know something likes our heavy wet soil.

  6. debsgarden says:

    Not sure how the word “drive” got converted into grove! Oh, well…

  7. Jeannie says:

    HA! Spring has arrived for you but Winter is refusing to leave here! I know I am whining but it is depressing. This morning it has been sleeting and snowing. I am not very patient.

    It was a pleasure to look at all of your blooms, so much color it is uplifting. Thanks for sharing.
    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry.blogspot.com

    • Pauline says:

      Winter has hopefully just left us Jeannie, we had thick snow on Easter Sunday, the change in the garden is really amazing. Hope spring catches up with you soon!

  8. snowbird says:

    Good gracious me! So many gorgeous plants, lucky, lucky you! It was a pleasure seeing them all, you are way ahead of me!!!I wouldn’t mind wandering around your garden, not much happening here!xxx

    • Pauline says:

      I’m glad you enjoyed them Dina, hopefully you will soon catch up weatherwise. I’d love to have you wandering round with me, I think it would be great fun!

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