Lots more buds have now opened to join in the frenzy of flowers telling us that spring has definitely arrived. Walking round the garden, there is always something new to see each day.
The summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum, is now flowering merrily, not so far behind its cousin, the spring snowflake. This seems to enjoy my heavy damp soil, it is increasing quite quickly so I will be able to split it once it goes over.
This tiny Hepatica has been planted in the little woodland on a slope so that it has good drainage. It is a new plant so I hope it likes the spot that I have chosen for it.
I bought this Primula quite some time ago but have lost its label, does anyone know which one it is? It has a lovely lilac coloured flower with pale green leaves which are very indented and covered with a bloom.
Chionodoxa bulbs have been planted in our scree bed, the only place where we have fantastic drainage.
This Bergenia is by the front door of the house and is Bergenia Beethoven, I prefer the white ones to the magenta pinks, they go better with the yellow daffodils.
We have this white primrose also by the front door, it doesn’t increase as fast as the wild primrose but shows up beautifully in the shade.
This is Daphne bholua and has been planted in the little woodland. It is just a new shrub, only been in a couple of years and this is the first year that it has flowered, the scent , even from just a handful of flowers is a-ma-zing!
I planted what I thought was a lot of Scilla sibirica last autumn, I need to plant loads more. They are such gorgeous little bulbs in such a fantastic shade of blue, I want them everywhere!!
Anemone blanda has started to flower, just one or two flowers at the moment, but soon there will be carpets of them.
From the house we can see into the little wood and the first flowers that you see at the moment are these pink flowers of Corydalis Beth Evans. They stand out and contrast with everything around them – beautiful.
Another Hepatica in the woodland, lovely little plants.
Nestled against the trunk of an oak tree are these gorgeous Erythronium dens canis looking just like tiny lilies, they don’t last long, so enjoy them while you can.
By the entrance to the garden we have a bush of Kerria japonica pleniflora which is just starting to flower, lovely double flowers, it will soon be covered with them.
Slowly forming a ground cover in just part of the woodland is Pachyphragma. It creeps along but is not invasive, not here anyway! The flowers are pretty and the white takes over from the snowdrops which are now finished.
This Cowslip is always the first one to flower, it has seeded itself into the bark chipping path in the woodland, in an area which is always rather damp. I’ve noticed that there are lots of seedlings around it this year, soon to be a drift! My original cowslips were given to me by a very dear friend who is sadly no longer with us, they remind me of good times spent together.
Another ground cover that we have in a different part of the woodland is Vinca major Variegata. this is spreading just a bit too far so work will have to be done to curb its enthusiasm. This is the first year that it has flowered however,even though it has been here for about 10 yrs, maybe it needs to be happy before it flowers and feel that it can spread for ever!!
This is a primula which always flowers early in this garden, another one that has lost its label. This is such a big clump, I think that it ought to be split when it has finished flowering.
A free bag of mixed Crocus was given with some bulbs that I bought last autumn. I like gifts like this, don’t they look lovely in the sunshine.
So many lovely new flowers every day, I wonder what will be out tomorrow.
New flowers are coming out every day and they are all looking gorgeous, it is like a tide of flowers spreading across the garden. It starts in the woodland with all the spring flowers and will end with the summer and autumn flowers over the other side of the garden by the farmers field, so much to look forward to in the weeks to come.