First garden visit of 2013

This was my first garden visit of the year and it was to The Garden House, Saxby, for their snowdrop opening. I hadn't visited the garden this early in the year before, so was excited to see what it looked like without the exuberant planting of the summer.  One of the owners said he was a bit disappointed that the crocuses weren't as far along as last year...

 ...but with a bit of sunshine, there were lots of little patches or yellow, cream, white and purple in the grass.

 The snowdrops were beautiful and I noticed that there were some interesting varieties, such as this one  - Viridapice, I think.  The delicate green markings extend to the outer petals in this one.

 To add a touch of warmth, just look at the fiery tones of Cornus Midwinter Fire (I think), which were a real showstopper in the Winter border.

 One of lovely vistas in the garden, looking up towards the urn, with the lavender flanking the path.

 The large pots have been planted with hyacinths this year (the other owner told us that the tulips they planted last year did not enjoy the extremely warm weather in March and April and they hoped the hyacinths would be happier).  You can just see the tips of green in the pots and in a week or two, they'll look beautiful. Another view, leading down to the water feature, with a very pleasing repetition of pots and topiary.

The diamond pattern of the paving shows up beautifully and there are lots of green shoots in the border.

 I love the formality of the hard landscaping which is really evident now.  It is softened by the topiary spirals and the copper beech pyramids, giving structure all through the year and an effective backdrop for the other plants here. 

 This Tudor gardener is usually hidden by a rose, but here he is smiling benignly at the visitors.

 Contrasting colours of iris reticulata and danfordiae.

 The cathedral garden, still a meditative area but with a delicate tracery of branches rather than the rustle of leaves.

 Of course, I had to buy something too.  Hyacinth Blue Magic, which looks to be a really dark blue with white centres - I am looking forward to seeing it flower (as long as the return of the cold weather doesn't put it off).

 Three irises - Katherine Hodgkin, Harmony and J.S Dijt.

 They have the most beautiful markings.

We had a lovely day.