Boinggg!

Spring has most definitely sprung.

Everything has come alive and every day there is something new to spot.

Fresh leaves are unfurling on the acers

The Nelly Modern clematis is throwing up new stems.

And the subtle scent of the evergreen clematis is just about in reach behind the water butts.

Dicentra (above) never fail to amaze me. Last week it was all but red buds pushing through the soil - a wee bit of sunshine and it explodes into growth! 

Below nodding heads of n. Rip Van Winkle.

This hellebore has self seeded. I've never been fortunate enough before to have this happen (unless inadvertently over zealous with a hoe).

Pieris both in flower and showing off its bright new growth.

I still haven't got round to tidying up the hydrangea out front - I am still enjoying the papery spent bracts from last year.

And soon, the tulips...

New Shoots

The big spring tidy up was completed this weekend. The dead, dying and sick were brutally ripped out to make way for new growth.

Violas were pretty much spent so the baskets and tubs were given a good tidy up. This box below is a favourite for our wren.

I had a bit of a mishap while cutting off the old foliage from this Japanese Anemone...I sheared off the whole stems of the clematis Montana which had found its way into the plant!  My only hope is that I have planted it deep enough and some dormant buds are forced into growth!

The fuchsia behind the washing pole has been given a hard prune; the oldest stems harder than the youngsters. Already there are some healthy buds sprouting. 

Hidden behind one of the water butts are some flower buds that are poised to burst open. I can't wait as they're supposed to be scented.

Around the garden there has been a good tidy up of old stems, leaves and

weeds.

Peony shoots, fat and red. I'm hoping this will flower this year.  Behind you can just make out the fresh new shoots of dicentra spectablis. 

The front garden needed very little weeding, but we have moved a fair few plants from the far end. The fence is going to be replaced and experience tells me that workmen's boots and plants do not mix. 

The dark pink hydrangea has been permanently moved to the back garden to replace the hypericum, the latter which already has new leaves smothered in tell tale signs of rust - so out it went!

The blue hydrangea has been given a temporary home in a pot of ericaceous compost.

White astrantia temporarily finds a home on Bumblebee's plot.  It needs splitting and some of the divisions planted in the pink bed. For now it will be happy enough.

Back out front, the rose 'Tall Story' has had a good prune.

All the ivy has had a haircut.

And the snowdrops have been divided and replanted.

Oh yes, and that aubretia planted.  Let's see how it fares.

Nothing better on a sunny spring morning than a colourful pot of bulbs.

Mother's Day

Last weekend was a good gardening weekend for some.  The Saturday was sunny despite a brisk wind.  We took advantage and visited a new garden centre...well new to us. It was quite a big garden centre filled with jewellery, kitchen ware...oh and plants!  We're planning on visiting again, perhaps late spring/early summer when we will take a walk round the gardens, visit the petting farm etc.  We bought just one plant (this time). A white hellebore.

Now I say it was a good gardening weekend for some because the Sunday was cold and wet - Mother Nature reminding us who is actually in charge.  So planting of the new hellebore was postponed until today, Mother's Day.

Now since it was Mother's Day and I am a mother (I'm a mom rather than a mum), I wondered if I could get away with visiting our local garden centre, only for a mooch around of course, maybe pick up a plant for mother-in-law, maybe pick up one of those kneeler-come-seat contraptions to assist with getting back up once down (I'm starting to feel my age now).

Now I'm not entirely sure how it happened, since Bumblebee was in charge of the trolley, but a few other things jumped into the trolley along with a pale lilac hydrangea we bought for mother-in-law!

Above is Viburnum bodnantense dawn, now planted in the pink bed. Something that has been on my list since starting our current garden...so an obvious must-have.

Below is a good looking pink scented rose, r. Mum in a million...which apparently I am. Also now planted in the pink garden, beside the arch over the secret door.

And finally 3 aubretia. The final time I am trying these. They just don't seem to like me. I've tried to grow these in all my gardens and the only place I managed it was in my first garden from a gifted clump. Each purchased trial has failed since, so this will be my last attempt...

But we ran out of time today to plant them as it was Mother-in-law's turn to feel special. 

I was pleased to see the hydrangea in the corner of the pink garden had new fat buds emerging. I had worried the the winter had killed this gift from my work colleagues.  It'll take a few years to get to a decent size but it'll look grand once it does.

The scented honeysuckle is kicking into life...

As is this tiny rose alongside some miniature narcissus. 

The large shrubby fuchsia too is budding up, another week or two and I'll cut this back hard again. It reached a good 4 feet in response to similar treatment last spring!

Most of the clematis have good healthy buds along the stems. This year they will have the full length of the fence to scramble along since the neighbour fixed it last autumn.  The only clematis that has yet to show any sign of life is the c. Montana we planted late last year to train over the roof of the bottom shed.  I'll give it a couple more weeks.

I gave the pond a good tidy up, netting all the old foliage and leaving it beside the water to allow any critters to get back in. There are still lots of plants that survived the winter, although as predicted it has sunk to the bottom. My notes inform me that the weed will carry on doing its thing and the water soldiers will rise back up as the temperatures do.  I did spot two tiny transparent bugs, so I must be doing something right.  I had to wait a few hours to take the photo to allow the silt to resettle, but I am happy to report our little puddle will hopefully be home to some rehomed frogspawn soon!

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow moms

February Freeze

It's all about the buds...

The hydrangea behind the bottom shed has begun to find its way.  It would be ideal to eventually cover the whole of the front of this shed as it's in the shade.  It clings to the surface by means of tiny aerial roots, much the same as ivy.  They are notorious for taking their time to get going, so it could take another year or more before it really shows me what it is capable of.  I wouldn't advocate growing it on a house wall because like ivy, it can damage the brickwork.  Along a wall, fence, shed or garage is perfect though.  I have seen these in their prime and so am prepared to wait.

This evergreen clematis seems to have done well so far through the winter and is now putting on new growth.  We planted it late last year so perhaps this year we will be able to train it to cover the framework we have created around the water butts.

Fat, beautiful and exciting. The buds of the restored rhododendron are swelling nicely.  It's like being a kid all over again shaking a gift and wondering what surprise lies within.  I cannot wait to find out what colour it is!

Sambuccus  nigra. I am planning on moving this plant when it warms up a little.  It's not quite in the right place and we have to push it to one side to get past it. I plan on moving it to where the fence came down. So it can fill out the space properly without the threat of being damaged each time we pass it.

Not the best of shots, but buds are making themselves known on the largest of the hydrangeas in the front garden.  There are buds on the other two, smaller hydrangeas too.

Beneath the large hydrangeas nestle a clump of snowdrops.  It's not easy getting a good macro shot without decent equipment, but you can just make out the markings on the inner tepals (the petal-like structures).  I am going to divide the clump once they have finished flowering to spread them out beneath the shrubs. This should be done while they're 'in the green', that is while the leaves are still visible, as it encourages a good strong growth for the following winter.

Around the garden are signs that spring is in the air.  It might not feel like it to us, but to the birds who have been practicing their favourite tunes and the bulbs and flowers around the garden, spring is just around the next corner.  In the containers hyacinths are beginning to emerge.

Hellebores

And the cyclamen are still going strong.  I don't think they have stopped at all, despite the snow.

The pink garden is going to need some more focus this spring.  Everything is a bit...flat. There is plenty of ground cover with primroses, ferns and heucheras, but it just needs a little something to bring the eye upwards.  There is of course the tree and foxgloves but nothing to give it a bit of structure and depth.  I shall consult my literature and come up with a plan...which of course is what winter for a gardener is for.

Primula, primroses, polyanthus.  I can never remember which they are.  They are however perfect colour for the cold weather and cheery nonetheless.

Oh yes...Bumblebee's rhubarb! We will have to keep a better eye on this so we get to eat it before something else does.  I need to get a black bucket over it.

It took me quite some time to get the focus right for this shot.  I think these flowers are a little premature as winter hasn't finished with us just yet.  Thankfully there are plenty of other buds forming along the stems to take over.

Did you know that the crocus comes from the iris family and that people started cultivating them in 500BC?  It grows from a corm (not a bulb) and each year a new corm forms above the current one to create next year's flower.  Saffron comes from a certain species of crocus and is used in cooking, fabric dyeing, perfume and medicine. It takes some 80,000 plants to make 1 ounce of saffron. They are harvested by hand and 90% of the worlds saffron is produced in Iran. 

And on that note, raise a glass to bring in the month of March!