At last we have had a run of sunny days, which has dried the garden out a lot and brought on lots of the flowers that had been just sulking with the cold weather. Spring is in the air, the grass is growing, the birds are singing and collecting moss from the lawn to make their nests, and I am in the mood for gardening once more, stretching my muscles, ripping out yards of ivy, cutting back dead stuff and pruning like mad!
I bought a load of Iris reticulata Pauline bulbs from the Telegraph last year and planted them with a free packet of crocus that came with them, in the old tin bath that was used when I was a baby!
Iris reticulata and crocus
I bought Iris reticulata Pauline, but only one has turned out to be Pauline!
Pauline is on the right. I made up 2 pots for our daughter and daughter in law with 50 bulbs in each, I wonder what colour theirs turned out to be.
I do like the deep blue colour with the crocus.
Once these flowers have finished, I will plant them all on the side of the ditch by the woodland.
I love the markings on the outside of these crocus.
Shh…don’t tell you know who!
I haven’t seen Mr P for a couple of weeks now, so far my fritillaries are safe.
Still flowering by the back door.
More Scilla siberica open each day in the woodland.
Baxendale’s Late isn’t late any more, he is flowering just when he is supposed to.
My first Thalia blooms of the year, soon there will be loads of them.
Narcissus pseudonarcissus is a species,so is the only one I allow to seed around.
I like the frilly trumpet on this narcissus.
Corydalis solida seedlings, some are coming up different colours.
Corydalis Beth Evans is looking good at the moment.
Winter heathers are adding a splash of colour to the garden.
The bog garden is slowly waking up, this large Marsh Marigold is behind the pond.
One of my favourites, very pale inside with much darker outer petals.
This hellebore is pink outside, but almost yellow inside.
Cyclamen repandum flowering much earlier than usual.
The pink form of Chionodoxa, although I don’t know what the little bulbs are nestling in the middle!
False oxlips, made when primroses cross with cowslips.
Geum Totally tangerine has been flowering on and off all winter. I keep cutting it back, trying to give it a rest, but it just won’t stop.
March started out with gales and storms which brought some of the tiles down off the roof, but we are having a quiet spell at the moment and hopefully it will last all this week. The garden is full of buds, showing such promise for the weeks to come.
Thanks must go to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of every month, do pay her a visit to see other flowers blooming around the world.
Your spring blooms are a joy, what a wonderful time of year it is. Your frtitillary is early and the geum. The little pink flowers nestling amongst your Chionodoxa looks like Scilla verna. How odd, how did that get there?
Thanks Chloris for the ID on the flowers with the Chionodoxa, they must have been in the packet when I bought them. There are so many buds, the weather this week will bring them on so lots more flowers will be open soon.
It’s frustrating when purchases don’t turn out as advertised but the irises are so lovely nevertheless. Glad you’re feeling the spring tug to garden (though you never seem to miss a beat).
I’m finding that I love the intense blue of the Iris Susie, so I’m rather glad they turned out different from what was expected! We were actually working outside today without a coat, it was so warm, but I don’t know how long that will last!
I am glad to see that “you know who” has not been busy at your place recently.
I haven’t seen or heard him for a while now Alain, maybe he has found another gardener to provide his food!
Your spring bulbs are lovely! I have a few here too, but yours are further along than mine. I planted some species tulips in big pots of soil, with the intention of moving them into the garden when they die back.
Planting tulips in pots Alison is the only way I can grow them, our soil is so wet in the winter, they would rot away, so they will have to stay in their pots each year, but with the soil improved. Other bulbs though seem to cope with being planted out, once flowering has finished in their pots.
What a beautiful Spring garden you have, Pauline! It really does give you reason to get outside early in the season…..so much beauty and color after a gloomy winter.
Thanks Sally, all the flowers certainly make me come into the garden each day to see what is happening. Every day brings something new and now that the weather has warmed up a little, it seems everything is racing to flower!
Spring is such a wonderful time of year when we first feel some real warmth on our backs; we were having that a few weeks ago but it has turned cold again; even when it is warm right in the sun the air itself feels cold. You have such a wonderful selection of spring flowers Pauline, your garden is magical.
I was actually working without my coat yesterday Christina, the sun was so warm and the house was sheltering me from the cold east wind! I love this time of year in the garden as there is always something new to see each day.
I love your Spring garden Pauline !
What is the name of the hellebore in the centre of your header picture – it’s really beautiful.
Rosemarie x
Thanks Rosemarie, this is a lovely time of year, lots of the flowers were early with the warm winter, but I think the flowers have settled down now.
Sorry, I don’t know the name of the hellebore, it probably doesn’t even have one, as most Hellebore breeders don’t name them any more. I always buy mine when they are in flower, then just choose the ones I like best!
A beautiful spring garden!
Thank you so much Anca and also thanks for stopping by and leaving a message!
Amazed to see your Geum TT in bloom, you must have it in a very sheltered spot. They are still small leaves here!
I’m amazed too Jessica, it is still a large plant, the foliage hasn’t died down at all. I think, now that you mention it, it is sheltered from the north and east, by a couple of shrubs, that must have been enough to keep it going!
Oh how lovely to see all your blooms Pauline, especially the fr*******ies – I have spotted buds on mine but it will be a few weeks before they are ready to open. And I put Thalia in last autumn after seeing everybody else’s last year – looking forward to those too! Your Totally Tangerine is a real tease, isn’t she?!
More fritillaries are opening each day Cathy, so I’m still watching and listening for “you know who”! Thalia are one of my favourites, I must buy more for other borders in the autumn. I’m amazed by G. TT, it just won’t stop, I would have thought that the leaves would have collapsed in the frosts that we have each night, but it just carries on!
Your Spring garden is wonderful, as always! I do love the crocuses and iris reticulata together like that, even if they are the “wrong” iris! I was stomping around the garden the other day tidying things up (and ripping out armfuls of ivy) when I saw leaves of fritillaries popping up in the grass, so perhaps I haven’t lost them all! Hope your fritillaries are left in peace to flower…
Thanks Janet. I was too impatient with the bulbs in the bath, more purple Paulines have opened up and a few of the crocus have opened as purple, they all look lovely together! I’m glad I’m not the only one being invaded by ivy, it’s amazing what carries on living underneath isn’t it, hope your fritillaries will now be able to flower.
You have some great blooms going on. ‘Thalia’ is striking, and I really like Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’. The iris with yellow Crocus combo is also very fetching.
Thalia is a lovely narcissus Jason, the white looks so beautiful after the bright yellow of Tete a Tete. I spoke too soon about the bath of iris and crocus bulbs, more purple iris have now opened and a few lilac crocus! They all look very pretty together!
What a brilliant range of colour you have in your garden, much more than just the usual yellow at this time of year. That’s the joy of blog-following – inspiration – seeing what can be achieved. I’m off to make notes!
Thanks Sue, it is an exciting time of year, with something new opening up each day. I think we all learn something from reading other people’s blogs, I know I do.
Only one Pauline? Must mean you are one of a kind! What a fabulous hellebore. I bought three fancy varieties last year, but I can only find a single now and it failed to bloom:-(
I spoke too soon Marian, more Paulines have opened up, they are now about half and half! How sad that your hellebores have failed to perform, they are greedy feeders, I have to remember to give mine a dose of fertiliser each year, some people even say they need feeding twice a year, just after flowering and again in the autumn when the buds are forming.
Your spring garden is a joy. I know you must experience such pleasure gardening in the marvelous environment you have created! I am enthralled with your fritillaries. I hope Mr. P stays away!
Yes Deb, so far Mr P. has stayed away and my fritillaries are pristine! Spring is a wonderful time of year, especially after such a wet winter, the colour from all the bulbs lifts the spirits.
Glorious as always! Spring is such an exciting time in our gardens. Hooray for a bit of dry weather for you finally!
Thanks Peter, but our dry spell is coming to an end unfortunately, the jet stream is moving and letting in some huge depressions coming across the Atlantic, ah well, newly planted plants need watering!
I’m sorry to have missed this post, Pauline, recently your new posts haven’t been sent to my email which is a shame. I enjoy reading them so much that I check through search engines to find them. I shall try resubscribing to your blog. I like the story behind the tin baby bath!
Yes Kate, believe it or not, I did once fit in there for my bath! Each time my parents moved, it went with them, then when my mother finally came to live with us when she had dementia, it became mine and was used as a bulb container!
So sorry you are having problems, it makes me wonder how many other people are, our son will be visiting soon so I’ll see if he can sort something out.
It was such a treat to see your spring flowers Pauline! I particularly love the irises in the tub. The snow is gone, but everything is still brown here. The weather continues to be cold and the only flowers to put in an appearance so far are a few brave snowdrops.
Thanks Jennifer, I’m so glad you like the little iris, these were planted late, the ones already in the garden were flowering in January!
Will that be the last of the snow for you, I hope so, then your flowers can get into flowering mode! Snowdrops manage to flower no matter what the weather throws at them, what would we do without them!
The blooms are a delight to see but the fritillaria does seem very early. I’m not complaining though, I’m looking forward to see how yours do again this year. Hopefully this year’s show will be even better than the last!
Yes Frank, the fritillary is early but it has now been joined by lots more of its friends. We have had a very dry month and so far the flower stalks are a lot shorter, however we had lots of rain yesterday and more coming over the weekend, so hopefully they will soon be the right height.