Mahonia Charity is still carrying on flowering long after it should have stopped.

The wild snowdrop is only just starting to show above ground, all the ones that are flowering now are special ones. I did have them all labelled, very tastefully with black labels and silver writing, but most of them seem to be missing, where have they all gone!! Will have to get my large snowdrop book out and re-identify them all and then make a map of where they are all planted!

I think this one is John Gray.

Is this Atkinsii, I think so, a good one that increases quite quickly.

A clump of one of the Greatorex doubles, Hyppolyta or Desdemona,  from its size, I think it is Desdemona. I won’t bore you with any more snowdrops until I have managed to re-identify them.

One of the Camellias has been flowering since December, the others have nice fat buds but are not showing any flowers yet.

Another that was in flower before Christmas is Narcissus Rijnveld’s Early Sensation.

Rosa Graham Thomas just refuses to stop flowering, and there are so many buds forming too. It was cut back by half in November, but has put out lots more new shoots, just hope it won’t regret it later.

The same has happened to the Anthemis in the front garden, it just doesn’t want to stop flowering!

Hellebores are now starting to flower in all the shady borders.

Some of them are the most delicious plum colour.

Some are double, pink outside and white within, absolutely gorgeous!

And some are spotted, will do a separate post about these lovely plants when they are all flowering in February.

The small Sarcococca bush that we have, just inside the woodland strip, might have rather insignificant flowers, but they certainly pump out the perfume! On a still day the perfume hangs around in the air and people wonder where it is coming from , not realising that it comes from such tiny flowers.

The summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum,  is another flower that was flowering before Christmas!! Have just noticed that the spring snowflake, L.vernum, has put out its first flower, but it has a lot of catching up to do.

The tassels on Garrya elliptica are getting longer each day.  When we went to Rosemoor the other day , the RHS have a fantastic bush at the entrance with the most amazingly long tassels, put mine to shame!

Choisya ternata just gets better and better, it never seems to want to stop flowering.

Another little bush that is thoroughly confused, Convolvulous cneorum. This little plant just keeps  forming more and more flower buds, how do I stop it!

One plant that should be flowering now is Iris unguicularis, this has put flowers out since December, they don’t last long, only a day or two, but with so many buds there are always flowers showing, brightening up a dull day.

I know there are a few flowers that I forgot to photograph, the Japanese azalea, is now covered in blooms for example, but these are most of what is in flower at the moment here in the SW corner of the UK. Thank you to Carol at Maydreams Garden  for hosting this GBBD, to see more flowers, please go to http:// www.maydreamsgardens.com to see what is blooming around the world.

Another Dicentra near it was given to me by our postman, we used to swap plants when he delivered the post, such a shame when he retired, our new postman isn’t the least bit interested in gardening !

Iris japonica is such a gorgeous iris, but far smaller than I expected. Having seen photos of  it loads of times in books and magazines, I was expecting quite a large flower, but they are barely 2 inches across, still beautiful though with the most amazing markings.

Making a lovely backdrop to the bench in the pond area is the shrub Exochorda macrantha “The Bride”, this puts on a lovely display which lasts for about 1 month.

The Epimedium in the woodland walk which we have by the rhododendrons are almost finishing now, This lovely white one was new last year and is doing very well, it is E. grandiflorum ” White Queen “.

Another Epimedium is this sweet little pink and yellow one, I know I put a label near it but now it is nowhere to be seen, so I can’t tell you the name of this one I’m afraid.

Californian Irises are all so beautiful and seem to enjoy the shady conditions here along with the soil full of leaf mould.

There are so many lovely colours to choose from with delightful patterns, they remind me so much of the patterns on Paisley scarves.

Shining out of a very dark corner of the woodland is Viola cornuta, this seems very happy where it is so I think I will be taking lots of cuttings to spread it around.

My last narcissus to flower is the Pheasant’s eye narcissus and has the most wonderful perfume, it floats to you on the breeze and that is how I first came to know it. A few years ago we had a trip to a National Trust house in Cornwall, Lanhydrock House, it was one of the last trips we did with my mother before she died. We came upon a bank with thousands of these flowering, we could smell them long before we turned the corner and saw them. Havn’t quite got the same number here but the perfume is the same, brings back happy memories.

Paeonia mlokosewitschii is a plant that is so fleeting in flower that you must plan your holidays accordingly, it only lasts for a week or 10 days, so if you are away, you will miss it. It is so delicately beautiful while in flower, it is worth staying at home !

Polygonatum or Solomon’s Seal is making itself at home in all my shady borders, I will soon have to curb its enthusiasm before it takes over.

Cytisus or broom shouldn’t really be happy in my heavy clay soil but I mixed lots of grit with the soil before I planted it and put it on a slope so any rainwater drains away and so far, it looks perfectly happy, thank goodness.

Another Meconopsis, not from the Himalayas this time, not turquoise blue, but from Wales and yellow ! Meconopsis cambrica seeds very gently round my garden, other people pull it out in their hundreds as weeds. I think it goes mad in a much lighter soil than mine, but I keep sprinkling the seeds and each year one or two more plants appear, it is very welcome.

Lewisias, again, like very well drained soil, so mine are planted in an Alpine trough bought at the RHS garden Wisley. This is one of the cotyledon Hybrids and for about 10 yrs has been very happy where it is. The shells nearby were brought back from Sierra Leone last year to remind us of our time there.

Camassias are another plant that is beautiful but fleeting, so lovely when flowering but so soon over.

My first rose to flower started in April and is Annabelle, I think. It was here when we bought the house and so far I have moved it twice without it objecting. I think it will be staying put from now on.

I will finish with our English bluebells which have been fantastic this year. The colour seems much deeper, or is it that there are more and more each year, and the perfume, wow! When on my knees weeding among them, the perfume was delightful, so yes to Hyacinthoides non-scriptus and no to H. hispanica !!!

So many wonderful plants, it has taken me a long time learning which plants like the conditions in my garden, so many errors have been made,  but we all learn from our mistakes and eventually everything comes right, the plants look happy, this then makes us happy and we then go out and buy more plants, and so it goes on ! Are you like me, taking quite a long time to learn about all the different soil conditions in your garden or are you a natural gardener, getting it right first time for every plant ?!

After the very early narcissus in February of Narcissus pseudonarcissus and Rijnvelds Early Sensation the baton is taken up by little Tete a Tete which always looks so cheerful.

Some of my bulbs were bought so long ago – long before I ever thought of doing this – I’m not sure of some of their names. I think this one is Jumblie.

Is this Kilworth? Maybe someone could let me know.

Maybe this is Mount Hood, lovely flower, wish I had more of it.

I know this one is February Silver

and this one is the lovely Dove Wings.

This tiny little flower belongs to tazetta canaliculatus, so sweet and perfectly formed.

I think this one is Lemon Glow.

This is definitely Geranium, I have planted a lot of this one in the border just in front of the woodland, they make a nice show from the sitting room window.

How about Ice Follies, I think this is a beautifully formed flower, a little frill to the trumpet and always looks so clean!

Home Fires is not one of my favourites, poor thing , it can’t help it. I feel the colours are a bit strident for in the woodland, maybe I ought to move it, would I like it more somewhere else? This variety was already here when we moved here, I think the problem might be that I didn’t choose it!

March 17th wouldn’t be the same without St. Patricks Day, it never lets me down, no matter what the weather,  it always flowers on time.

Jack Snipe is such a super sturdy little one, we have quite a lot of this one in the woodland.

Lovely Thalia is now starting to come out everywhere and turning the garden back from yellow to white once more.

Don’t usually like double Narcissus but I made an exception in the case of White Lion, why, because of its beautiful perfume!

The first narcissus that flowered in February are now fading but we still have Pipit and Actea to come, so we will be able to enjoy these cheerful bulbs for quite a while longer. It is now time to deadhead these early ones, firstly, so that the bulb can build up again for next year and not waste energy by forming seeds, and secondly, so that the woodland doesn’t look a mess with dead flowers everywhere.

I have just taken loads of very boring photos of all the gaps in the planting that I think would benefit from some bulbs planted in the autumn. When planting time comes I will never remember where the gaps are – hopefully this will remind me – then all the other shady borders will look as lovely as the woodland does at the moment.

So many different narcissus

they deserve a post all to themselves.

Gold laced Primulas are now looking really beautiful

along with some of the double Primroses.

This Muscari latifolium is such a lovely one with 2 toned flowers – very sturdy and doesn’t seed around everywhere.

Pulmonaria ” Sissinghurst White ” is always buzzing with all the busy bees.

Cowslips are really coming on now and we can see where we have masses of seedlings, soon to be a drift, wonderful.

These Hyacinths started off as indoor bulbs, they have now settled nicely in the garden, soon to be joined by the ones that we have been enjoying in the conservatory.

Brunnera “Jack Frost” has started flowering and I noticed we have seedlings around it for the first time because I was late cutting it back last year – maybe I should be late more often.

My last snowdrop to flower is very aptly named – Baxendales Late.

Bergenia “Beethoven” is really in its stride now and looking very good by the front door.

Primula denticulata are now popping up in all the damp, shady places.

This Corydalis solida is looking  pretty on the side of the ditch in the wood.

Anemone nemorosa are now spreading nicely in the woodland and other shady areas, they seem to like the leaf mould mulch that they are given each year.

In a very damp area of the woodland we have Fritillaria meleagris spreading nicely. Each year I shake the seedheads when they open and in just a couple of years the new bulbs have formed and are flowering

Lovely when they are all out together.

Of course all these pretty bulbs and perennials are joined by all the blossom that is out now, but more of that in a later post. Everywhere is looking so fresh and colourful, the first green leaves are appearing on the trees and the birdsong is wonderful. When the sun is shining , and it has been shining a lot here lately, there really is no better place to be in the springtime than an English country garden !

Bees are buzzing everywhere, the first one we noticed was a bumble bee who was wallowing in the crocus which were all open wide. While working on my knees amongst the bulbs I was being buzzed all the time, they are still visiting the snowdrops and have now discovered the hellebores which have opened at last.

We have seen our first ladybird

and now , have frogspawn in our pond, this is much later than usual.

Iris unguicularis is now back into flowering mode once more.

A lonely grape hyacinth is flowering in the woodland, I don’t remember planting this, wonder where it came from, as there are no others anywhere near it.

Narcissus Tete a Tete is starting the main flush of the yellow narcissus . Lovely small bulb, soon everywhere will look as though it has been brushed with yellow paint and that the sun is shining even on a dull day.

Pulmonarias are flowering everywhere, most of them are the ordinary one which seeds everywhere, but at this time of year they are very welcome.

Crocus tommasinianus is now feeding all the bees, a honey bee just didn’t want to be photographed,

got it this time though,

and again!!!

This small lilac coloured flower belongs to Cardamine pratensis, and has been planted to attract Orange Tip butterflies. This is spreading slowly and looks very pretty carpeting the woodland floor.

All the hellebores have now recovered from the heavy frosts and snow and are now looking fantastic, so many lovely ones,  they will have a post all to themselves.

All these flowers are there for the bees that have woken up with the warmer weather and I can rest happy knowing that the larder is well stocked with pollen and nectar. They have plenty of food and they, in their turn, are pollinating all my plants for me. So much is rushing into flower at the moment, so many new flowers each day, we will still have more frosts – hope they can all cope.

Apparantly the fallen branch that you see here came down the day before their first open day, 5th Feb. They were so thankful that the public were not there at the time and it was only the snowdrops that got squashed !!!

As well as the various snowdrops which were everywhere, no matter where you looked, other small bulbs have been planted to form a  contrast of colour. These are the winter aconite, Eranthis hyemalis, looking much happier here than in my garden, and spreading around beautifully.

This clump of snowdrops was labeled ” Diggory ” and they are absolutely gorgeous. Only small in stature but they made up for that in having such fantastic round flowers.

Another general view of the woodland walk in the Park, the snowdrops here are ” James Backhouse”. This was formerly known as” Atkinsii” and is good for naturalising.

This is a view of “S.Arnott “, literally thousands of them and Colesbourne Park is reputed to have the best display of them in the country, I can believe it. While Ray and I were standing and admiring them we got into conversation with a charming gentleman and we agreed what a really good snowdrop it was and should be in everyones collection. It turned out that it was Sir Henry Elwes, the owner of Colesbourne Park and we both have them up our drives, mine is a much shorter drive than his!

More “S.Arnott” this time with cyclamen coum for company. There are lots of Cyclamen coum planted around the garden but also we saw lots of leaves of cyclamen hederifolium which flower in the autumn so with all the autumn tints this must be just as colourful later in the year.

Drifts of snowflakes, Leucojum vernum, hundreds of them, will mine ever spread to look as good as these, one day maybe.

On a steep bank we found a drift of Scilla siberica , such a tiny plant but what a fantastic colour blue. At home mine are not even showing yet.

In a glade beneath the very tall trees was a drift of Crocus  tommasineanus, hundreds of them. What a pity the sun wasn’t shining, they would have all opened up and looked a lot happier, even so , a beautiful scene.

Another general view of the woodland walk, snowdrops as far as the eye can see.

And even more bulbs, who can possibly say that gardens are boring in the winter !

These tiny little narcissus are not open properly yet, but I think they might be Narcissus cyclamineus where the outer petals will be swept back in line with the trumpet.Gorgeous little things.

Another large patch of Cyclamen coum, fantastic for contrasting with all the snowdrops.

Found a few Iris ” Katharine Hodgkin” in a border near to the house. Very understated and very beautiful.

Also saw a few Hellebores, like us , their hellebores are not firing on all cylinders yet. The  weather  in December and January has certainly held them back. We need another week of milder weather and then they will open properly.

The final part of our visit was to walk down by the lake at Colesbourne Park, even in the winter with no leaves on the trees it was so beautiful. The lake is very blue apparantly due to particles of clay suspended in the water, whatever the reason, it is a lovely shade of blue.

This was our final view before turning back towards the car park and the sales table! Did I succumb to temptation…….what do you think…….of course I did!!! My new snowdrops are “Colossus”, very tall and early flowering, should be out by Christmas, weather permitting. Also ” Lord Lieutenant ” which has horizontal flowers and commemorates Sir Henry  Elwes’ position as Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. My last one is “Lapwing” which has the most unusual inner markings and has been on my wish list for a long time.

While walking back to the car park,  past the Tea Room, a lady came out , wearing her apron, and got talking about the garden. She said that we were wonderful to come on such a miserable day, it was drizzling by now,when we looked at her name badge it said Carolyn Elwes – what a lovely couple sharing their superb garden with us all and giving us such wonderful memories. We will certainly be back.

Eranthis hyemalis, or the winter aconite, starts flowering about the same time as the snowdrops. I don’t think they are very happy in my garden, I do have trouble keeping them going but they usually die out after a couple of years. I think they prefer a more alkaline soil than mine but I keep trying because they are such a lovely splash of yellow so early in the year.

What does my Mahonia “Charity” think it is doing, flowering now.It must have decided that it was cut short in the early winter when all the frost and snow arrived and has to make up for it now.Whatever the reason, it looks very pretty and I’m sure any passing bee will be very grateful !

When we made our scree bed where the previous people had their pond, we filled it in with all sorts of rubble and then covered that with a mixture of compost and grit, getting more and more gritty towards the surface. This is the only area in the garden which has fantastic drainage, so is kept for very special plants which need these conditions. The first bulbs to flower here are the gorgeous Iris reticulata, this one is “Pauline”, sorry, but I had to have it didn’t I !!

This one is “George”, not such a deep purple, more blue.

and this one is “Edward”, much more blue. These are the most beautiful little iris and are a wonderful splash of colour at this time of year.

Also flowering at the same time as the first snowdrops are the spring snowflakes, Leucojum vernum. They have such beautifully shaped flowers, just like Tiffany lampshades. These are beginning to seed themselves around the garden and are now popping up in unexpected places, which is lovely. The much taller Leucojum aestivum flowers later, but not much later, it will only be a couple of weeks until its buds open, lots to look forward to.

Cyclamen coum has been out for some time now, getting better and  better as the weeks go by. More and more flowers are coming, there seems to be no end to the buds which are being formed, super little plants. These are also being spread around the garden, the seed gets distributed by the ants, they are doing a good job, better than I could !

Soon the predominant colour in the garden will change from white to yellow once the narcissus get into their stride, but at the moment this is the only one which is flowering. This is Narcissus “Rijnveld’s Early Sensation” which looks just like an ordinary yellow daffodil, but it flowers much earlier than its cousins, a lovely splash of yellow so early in the year.

The only crocus that I have planted in the little woodland is the species Crocus tommasinianus and these are beginning to seed themselves around, but not aggresively and so far are not  a nuisance.On lighter soil I think that they can become a problem, but not here in our heavy soil.

The Garrya eliptica bush that we have in the back garden now has its tassels fully elongated and will look good for the next month or so. This will get pruned after flowering as it flowers on wood produced the previous year, this will give it time to grow new shoots  ready for it to flower again next year.

Not flowering, but shining out brightly in the little woodland, is Luzula sylvatica “Aurea”. This never seems to diminish in colour, it is bright all year round and a good companion for whichever plants are flowering and also a good contrast for the hostas and ferns which are here later in the summer.

I think that I have said before, that the little woodland is one of my favourite places in this garden, there is so much going on for nearly the whole year, I think December is the only month when there is nothing flowering and I can’t say that for any other part of the garden. It is a very special place for me.

In spite of this the early flowers have looked lovely, when we got back from Sierra Leone the small woodland looked wonderful with thousands of snowdrops- the Hellebores which normally flower at the same time didn’t like the freezing temperatures and flowered beautifully a month later. Lots of other Spring bulbs followed the Snowdrops, then the Primroses, Narcissus & Bluebells took over. It was certainly worth going for a little walk each day just to see what had popped up overnight.

My passion, apart from Snowdrops & Hellebores, is Meconopsis and I am nursing about 200 seedlings, having just planted them out in their final places.50 were grown from seed which I bought in Canada at the Metis Garden (fantastic garden) and the other 150 from the seed of a plant I bought of Meconopsis “Lingholm”. While everyone else here will be hoping for a hot dry summer, I’m afraid I will be hoping for it to be cool & drizzly so that they will feel as if they are still at home in Tibet! Now each day I am searching for flower buds on my plants — do I let them flower in their first year? – I have read so much conflicting advice. At the moment I don’t think I would have the heart to cut the flower spikes off but would have to sacrifice one plant to collect seed to try and grow more plants.

At the moment we are frantically trying to get our garden ready for our opening for the National Garden Scheme next month (June 12/13) — non stop weeding. We thought we were on top of the weeds but after the last lot of rain the weeds are popping up everywhere again – it never stops!