Snowdrops and other delights - part one

I love to see snowdrops, as they are the heralds of Spring and a sign that winter is nearly over (and one of my favourite flowers).  I visited the little churchyard in the city last week and enjoyed a few minutes of peace, listening to the birds singing and enjoying just wandering amongst the trees. 

The aconites were also in flower.

It was another dull and grey day, but still lovely.  You can read about previous visits here and here.

Last Sunday, Chris and I collected our friend Alison and we headed out to Doddington Hall to get another snowdrop fix.  We have visited for their snowdrops before, here. We also visited last year for the sculpture event here, here and the gardens here.  We were lucky with the weather as we actually had some sunshine.

There were other plants such as cyclamen coum...

..vividly coloured witch hazel in shades of orange...

...and yellow...

...and beautiful drifts of snowdrops.

There were views like this to enjoy.

We could see the witch hazels shining out across the lawns.  More to come in the next post.

Snowdrops 2024

We last visited this ancient cemetery in February 2021, when gardens that usually had snowdrops to visit were closed.  You can read about it here.  On the spur of the moment, making the most of a sunny morning we decided to head out again, so that I could get a snowdrop fix!  I do have a few snowdrops in the garden, but I love to see them in drifts.

There were lots of snowdrops and aconites and a few crocuses.

They were all enjoying the winter sunshine.

The trees made some lovely shadows too.

The tree bark was very textured.  There are London Plane trees, Sycamores and Limes here.

You can see the aconites better in this photo.

We were lucky that it was so quiet, with not many people about and we could enjoy the lovely birdsong as we wandered.

Just beautiful!

The blue sky was such a bonus and the tree branches made a wonderful tracery.

It isn't a very big space, but was a lovely place to spend some time with nature.

Snowdrops

Usually around this time I head out with friends to visit a garden and admire the snowdrops. Over the years we have visited several local-ish places including Hodsock Priory, Brightwater Gardens and Doddington Hall.  However, this year they are all closed.  

In order to get my snowdrop fix, I suggested to Chris that we walk into the city centre to a little cemetery which we used to drive past on the way back from work sometimes.  Last Thursday, the weather was sunny with blue skies and although it was cold, we decided it would be the perfect time to go.  So we did.  The cemetery itself has been used for centuries - since the Iron Age, according to the board pictured above.  There are London Plane trees, sycamores and limes here too.  Considering it is in a relatively busy part of the city, on a through-road, it was extremely peaceful and there was a bird singing while we were there, which we really enjoyed listening to.   

There was still some snow here and there.

There was a carpet of aconites.

In the sunnier part of the cemetery, the snowdrops had opened a bit more.

One of my favourite flowers (as I tell anyone who will listen!)

There were lots of snowdrops to enjoy.

The trees shadows made some lovely patterns.

It made me so happy being in this peaceful place.

I really enjoyed the visit and will go again when the cow parsley is out, later in the Spring.