little else to look at through the winter months - but the rest of the garden is bursting into life. Handsome clumps of deep purple Hellebores are a feature in shady corners, their nodding blooms clustered on strong dark stems. These elegant perennials are so easy to please and have made huge clumps over the many years that they have been in the ground. Their seedlings are also beginning to flower and we have a mix of colours including white plants which are heavily freckled with burgundy – such a shame that they hang their heads and you have to turn them up to admire the markings on the petals.
The white, multi-headed Daffodil ‘Thalia’ is about to flower and we have planted some white Forget Me Nots to compliment them. These too are beginning to show off their clusters of foamy flowers – I hope that they will seed through this area and produce white rather than blue offspring!
Slowly leaves are beginning to open on trees and shrubs and with a little warmth over the next few weeks, more buds will expand and the landscape will green up once again. The gray green leaves of Cotoneaster are peppering the bare branches and the smoky pink leaves of Fuchsia magellanica ‘Versicolor’ are also starting to appear.
Ornamental grasses including Miscanthus are beginning to grow away again after their January hair cut. The spear-like growth of new leaves are piercing through the soil yet to unfurl and make the elegant arching plants that we value so much for their late autumn and winter flowers.
Climbers too are not idle and the ornamental Vine ‘Claret Cloak’ has huge furry buds that will soon burst and grow into handsome heart shaped leaves which are a joy through the summer as well as in the autumn when they turn deep scarlet before falling. Clematis are growing away and the bare wood of Clematis montana is studded with fat flower buds which won’t open until May month but are clearly visible nested in with the leaf buds that are starting to open.
The front garden is still looking bare apart from Daffodils and the promise of clumps of Tulips still to flower. Last year we dug out clumps of perennials which had outgrown their spaces and although I replanted pieces immediately, the winter wet has done for many of them. This has given us a big space for sun loving plants and I am tempted by an early Broom (Cytisus praecox) with creamy yellow pea-like flowers at this time of the year. These are loved by bees and the plant will make a low growing mound – perfect for the exposed location! A Ceanothus is also on my wish list but will need to be placed carefully so that it is sheltered from cold winter winds. ‘Puget’s Blue’ is one of my favourites with its tiny deep green leaves, sturdy upright growth and deep blue flowers in early summer which again, are loved by bees.
Adding new plants is always an exciting prospect and a reminder that gardens are never finished. I look forward to my next visit to Notcutts when I’m sure I will find exactly what I need to suit my garden and plenty more besides!
