April 2021 GBBD

April is the month we can usually rely on having April showers so that any new plantings get watered in nicely without too much effort on the part of the gardener, not this month though. I seem to be spending such a lot of time each morning watering new plantings as we have had hardly any rain here this month, this probably means we will now have a deluge! My daughter came to see me the other day as we don’t have to stay local anymore, but we could only meet in the garden and it was so bitterly cold in spite of the hot carrot and ginger soup with cheese scones that I made for our lunch. Once refreshed we went for a tour round the garden and this is what we found.

The primroses are still making the driveway border look rather nice, the forget me nots in between are starting to flower now, adding to all the colour.

Cherry blossom by the gateway. This tree looks as though it is getting very old as branches keep dying and falling off, hopefully it will carry on for a bit longer, in the meantime the bees love it.

The berberis by the garage is in full bloom now, this is always buzzing with bees.

Bergenia Beethoven is spreading across the drive by the front door, soon I won’t be able to get in, must move some of it!

Dear old Chaenomeles by the back door, what would I do without you to brighten up each day for 6 months!

New foliage is adding to all the blossom flowering at the moment, this is the lovely bronze foliage of Amelanchier, Narcissus Thalia flowering at its feet.

Blackthorn and camellia blossom joining in with the amelanchier. Unfortunately most of the amelanchier blossom was decimated by 7 male bullfinches sitting in the top of the tree just ripping the blossom off, yes, I did chase them away!

A beautiful camellia which is hidden away now behind some other rhodos so I must find a better home for it as it is so gorgeous.

The rockery is filling up now with all the little plants that I have been planting. When I need space for new plants, I just have to move more foxglove seedlings elsewhere.

Another view of the rockery.

Now into the woodland which still has plenty to offer in the way of flowers at the moment.

Erythronium Sun Disc obviously enjoying the conditions at the top of the slope by the ditch.

Erythronium White Beauty is happy under a rhododendron bush. I keep thinking of moving it but know that it will take a long time before it flowers again, so it gets left where it is.

Snakeshead fritillaries and wood anemonies are still flowering together, they seem to enjoy each others company.

Whoever was ripping the flowers off has thankfully stopped, the rest all seem to be safe.

My favourite at the moment, Epimedium Amber Queen, so many dainty pretty flowers and such lovely foliage to match.

The flowers seem to float in mid air, a swarm of pixie hats!

Hyacinthoides non scripta or English bluebells, nothing beats that lovely blue colour. If any Spanish ones planted by the previous people pop up, they are pulled out before the bees can mix the pollen up.

A wild cherry tree that was given away by our local council many years ago has decided to flower at last.

The view from the bridge in the woodland, looking across the back lawn, the rockery, over to the circular lawn with the chinese ginger jar and the border beyond by the field.

Cowslips looking very much at home on the rockery, I’m not sure that they should be there, but they look happy so can stay.

Lovely little Tulip clusiana Peppermintstick is now living on the scree, I hope she settles down there and thrives, it is gorgeous!

And now for a few photos taken by my daughter, first of all a view of my garden that I have never seen before…….

A panoramic view taken with my daughter’s phone showing on the left, the side garden facing east with circular lawn and also on the right, part of the back garden which faces southwest.

Collage made by my daughter with all the photos taken by my her, except for the one which I took! The birds weren’t put off by us sitting only about 10 ft away, socially distanced of course, they just carried on drinking and feeding!

I really enjoyed my daughter’s visit, it was so wonderful seeing her “in the flesh” after so long just seeing her on Facetime. Hopefully by the next time she visits we will be able to be inside, or it will be a lot warmer!

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this each month, please pay her a visit to see lots more flowers around the world.

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10 Responses to April 2021 GBBD

  1. How special to share your daughter’s visit with us Pauline. And so lovely to see you! Your garden is spectacular as always.

    • Pauline says:

      It’s a pleasure to share it with you Susie, I just wish it hadn’t been so cold! Today is much better with lovely sunshine and quite a bit warmer. The garden is looking very colourful in places, really springlike.

  2. Denise says:

    First, I must say your lunch menu sounds absolutely delicious! Then so much to see in your garden and so many lovely flowers it is just wonderful. I am glad you got to meet your daughter in person at last even thought the weather was not so kind. Lovely also to see you in person Pauline!

    • Pauline says:

      Soup was lovely and hot Denise and took the chill away for a while. It was wonderful actually seeing my daughter again after so long and yes, she was shown all the work that I’d been doing during lockdown, parts of the garden have never been so tidy!

  3. Anna says:

    It must have been so special Pauline to see your daughter after all this time. Your soup and scones sounds just the right fare for such a day but no doubt a walk around the garden helped you to warm up further. No doubt your daughter had much to say about what you have accomplished in the garden over the last year or so. Very little rain in Cheshire too so far this month – definitely no April showers. Lovely to put a face to your name

    • Pauline says:

      We actually had a shower of rain the other day Anna, it lasted all of 5 minutes! The garden put on a good show for my daughter, so many lovely flowers for her to photograph and so many birds to photograph while we were sitting at the table near the bird feeder.Thanks to the lockdown, the garden is looking better than usual as I’ve been able to be out there nearly every day.

  4. Cathy says:

    It was such a lovely surprise to see you Pauline, but of course even lovelier for you and your daughter to get together after all this time. Having gone down to Surrey on Weds to see my elder daughter I can guess how much her visit will have meant to you both. Your spring garden is really waking up and it was intriguing to see that unusual panoramic shot

    • Pauline says:

      It was a surprise to me too Cathy when I saw my daughter’s collage! It was wonderful to see her again and catch up on all the news, but it was so hard not to give her a hug! I feel that spring arrived with the narcissus in March and flowers are lasting longer with the cold weather which is nice. The panoramic shot shows two areas that are in opposite directions, so it was unusual for me too!

  5. snowbird says:

    How lovely that daughter got to visit, you both look lovely. What a wonderful panoramic view! I know what you mean re how cold and dry it is, it’s been the same here, although the days are bright, they are bitterly cold when the sun goes behind a cloud. We could do with a little rain too. Everything is looking beautiful, you have so many delights to enjoy.xxx

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you Dina, the flowers continue to come in spite of still no rain! Quite a lot of heat in the sun during the day but freezing temperatures at night time, the plants are coping amazingly well so far. x

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