Early Spring in the garden

While it is early Spring, there is still a high chance of colder weather up until May.   I am enjoying the early flowering plants, such as this unnamed camellia. 

Hellebore Ice and Roses is doing beautifully, with really tall stems and more upward facing flowers.

The unnamed double camellia which Mum gave me quite a while ago now is looking lovely too.  I think this may be a camellia williamsii.

The flower colour is very zingy!

The cyclamen coum and snowdrop pot has been bringing colour to the shady patio.

While cardamine quinquefolia is lightening up the shady border.  It does spread, but so far isn't trying for garden domination...yet.  

The hellebores in the garden are flowering now but seem to be a little less prominent than they were.  Perhaps they were affected by the heat and lack of rain during the last couple of summers.

These are Harvington speckled ones and you do need to lift the flowers up to see the patterns.

I think this one may be a self-seeder from the original but I am happy to leave it in the garden.  It is a joy to welcome these lovely plants each year.

Spring colour

Spring has sprung, so let's celebrate!  The camellias in the garden are in full bloom.  Above is an unnamed one I bought as a stick and it is doing really well and flowering profusely.

This unnamed double was a present from my Mum and has enjoyed being potted on.

Camellia St Ewe with its egg yolk yellow stamens.

Camellia Yoimachi which has had flowers through the winter.

Other flowers in bloom are Cardamine Quinquefolia which is certainly spreading through the border, but so far, hasn't proved to be a nuisance.

Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai with its pretty white flowers.

When the sun shines, just look at the beautiful blue sky.  A lovely Spring colour.

Echoing the blue sky, I recently potted these scillas on into a bigger pot and they have rewarded me with a mass of flowers.  Such a pretty plant. I need some more of these, I think! I also have my first tulips flowering in the border.  No doubt they will get a post in the weeks to come.

Spring is on the way...but more Winter to come yet...probably

It has been very mild recently and the plants are thinking it is nearly Spring.  The hellebores are still looking beautiful but the camellias have now joined in.  I think this is quite early for them, so I am enjoying their flowers in case the frosts get them.  Above is the flower from the unnamed double variety that my Mum gave me. 

Here is another unnamed variety but I think this is a japonica type.

Here is Camellia St Ewe - I bought this a few years ago and it seems happy at the bottom of the garden, in a west facing position.  

I noticed the three flowers in a row and thought they would make a good photo.

I also have a few narcissus Tete a Tete in flower. I do like these small ones and need to get more!

Finally here is my standard cherry - Kojo-no-mai, with its delicate flowers.  Again, this seems quite early, but is telling us that Spring might not be too far away.
 

Good things to come

I am enjoying wandering round the garden at the moment.  Above are some snowdrops in the border, tantalisingly close to being fully open.  These tall ones, probably Elwesii or something similar were from my Mum's garden many years ago.  They may need to be divided, if I could ever remember to do this at the right time!

More promise of things to come. Here is a camellia, probably a japonica  which was a present from Mum and I have no idea what variety it is. It is a double and has nice plump flower buds.  It needs to be in a bigger pot now.

I was pruning some of my roses this afternoon and the scent from the winter flowering honeysuckle was lovely. The scent is best on a sunny day and it is like lily of the valley - a fresh, delicious scent.  As I have said before, this is a straggly birds' nest of a shrub but all is forgiven when it is flowering on a sunny day!

Spring is just round the corner

Spring is almost here and the garden is starting to respond to the increasing light levels.  The camellias need to be featured as they are looking lovely at the moment. I was a bit concerned that the snow and overnight frosts would play havoc with the flowers, but so far they are all right.  Above is an unnamed one given to me by my Mum.

Camellia St Ewe is providing a lovely splash of colour down at the bottom of the garden...

...as is Yoimachi, which has been flowering for ages.

Another unnamed camellia looking so pretty with its blush pink flowers. This is probably a japonica variety.

I planted this little trough of Tete a Tete narcissus last Autumn and they make me smile with their happy yellow flowers.

The colour contrasts well with the cool blue of this scilla.

My standard cherry Kojo-no-mai is also starting to flower.

Cardamine quinquefolia is also doing well - possibly making an attempt at border domination.  I keep meaning to dig some out, but in flower it is pretty and then it dies down again, so I forget to do it.

Hellebores in the garden are later than the potted ones.  This is Harvington Pink speckled.

This one is Harvington Pink Picotee.

Finally, just because I can, more camellias.  Well, when they flower, they should be celebrated, shouldn't they?

Spring is nearly here.  I have tulips in bud too, which is always exciting!

Early May in the garden and buying some plants

I have one clump of English bluebells which have grown at the base of a potted box bush.  

One of my camellias is in flower and looks beautiful.

I visited a local garden centre last weekend and just had a couple of things on my list - a salvia and some compost.  Well, you know what it is like - I came back with an osteospermum, a dianthus, lemon thyme...  

...a nemesia...

...three ferns, a salvia, some compost, some grit and some slow release fertiliser!  It was lovely to have a trip out and indulge in some garden retail therapy (even if I spent more than I planned!)

Nearly...but not quite...Spring

We have been very lucky with the weather during the last two weeks in March. My little standard cherry (Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai) has looked lovely. It lived up to its name which means 'Flight of the Butterflies'.

Here it is, flowering away.  It is a little difficult to see without a dark backdrop - I have pruned the buddleia which is behind it. 

Lovely primroses have been showing their faces in the border...

...even if they have been nibbled by something, they are still lovely.

An unnamed pink camellia has been flowering really well.

It has been the best ever, well, it was.  It is a little more brown now.

There was one flower on the other unnamed camellia.  I am pleased I took the photos when I did because everything is looking rather more brown and frosted now.  We are in a cold snap with minus temperatures at night and Winter is back in charge.  Certainly not that cold compared to other places in the World, but a shock to the system after the last two weeks. This is sometimes the case, but with our drier and brighter Springs over the last couple of years, it is easy to forget that Winter can come back in April.  I remember a holiday in Oxfordshire during April when I was younger and we visited Rousham gardens (a fabulous place) accompanied by hail and snow - a bit like yesterday.   It is due to warm up a bit next week, so hopefully the Spring flowers can continue without too much disruption.