With more sunshine and warmth the garden is finally beginning to come to life. I think we are a month behind a ‘normal’ spring – whatever one of those is!
I love all seasons in the garden but especially spring and autumn. The spectacular leaf colours as plants slow down for the winter months and the haze of green that begins to cover bare branches in spring reminds me that although the weather is a challenge, part of the joy of living where we do are the changing seasons. Hot weather is very welcome but I don’t think I could cope with it all of the time!
So once again, the leaves are beginning to furnish trees and shrubs and the reliable spring flowers are putting on their show. My early Tulips ‘Purple Prince’ have been in flower for weeks, the cold weather holding them in suspended animation. Their perfectly shaped flowers are a deliciously deep colour, complimented by a double purple Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Rose) and the two deep blue Pulmonarias which have been in flower since January! The double purple Hellebore is a gem with nodding flowers packed with petals. The bees however prefer the single flowered plants and the Pulmonarias. Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ is planted in a very dry shady spot at the base of the evergreen Arbutus unedo and is a picture at the moment. The deep blue flowers are set off by the metallic silver leaves which shine in the spring but need the shade of the Arbutus through the summer months in case of sun scorch! I will try and remember to divide the plant once it finishes flowering and create a carpet in that area.
The Wallflowers have hardly grown since I planted them last autumn due I think to cold, wet soil. The idea was for bright golden yellow spikes of flowers to contrast with the blues and purples but it is not to be. Perhaps they will start to grow and flower in time for the later Tulips if the weather warms up a little more! I hope so because I love their ‘black cherry’ scent!
The green and white borders in the garden look good with the white Daffodils ‘Thalia’ running through them, although they have been bashed by the heavy rain and wind over the last few days. I have recently dug a clump of double white Snowdrops from a friend’s garden and planted them amongst the Daffodils to give some earlier color in years to come. I find that Snowdrops are so much easier to succeed with if they are planted ‘in the green’. Although the two Mock Orange Blossoms (Philadelphus) in these borders are still fast asleep; their mass of tangled twigs yet to begin turning green, the scented Viburnum carcephalum is well into leaf and the knobbly green buds are about to open to flat heads of waxy white flowers with the sort of sweet scent that makes me want to keep breathing in until my lungs are full!
I intend to enjoy my spring flowers while they last for they will all too soon be gone and it will be another year before I can enjoy them once again!
