Mid April in the garden

Spring is certainly here and the garden has shifted up a gear.  Above is Erythronium Pagoda with a beautiful open flower.

The clematis plants on the arch are looking lovely too - alpina 'Frankie' and and alpina 'Blue Dancer'.

Tulips in the border...

...my favourite, Ballerina, with a fresh lemony scent.

Muscari or Grape Hyacinths always bring me a lot of joy.

These are the best tulips I bought last year, a variety called Finola. They have opened up more since I took this photo and there is one yellow one amongst the pink, but that makes me smile.

They are at the front of the house, so greet us as we come in - a very cheering sight!   The Choisya 'White Dazzler' is indeed dazzling - lots of flowers with a honey scent.

So pretty!
 

Easter in the garden - part two - tulips

I don't seem to have quite so many tulips as in other years in the borders, but this could be due to the very dry Spring we have had.  However, I do still have some to celebrate.  Above are Ballerina and Negrita in the border.

Here is Brown Sugar which I planted in a pot last autumn.

Here is Brown Sugar in the north facing border.

Ballerina again - this is a scented flower and such an elegant one.

Negrita in a pot plated last autumn.  

Finally, this is a double from a mixed selection and the pot greets me at the front door.  I think there are some other colours in the mix, so shall wait to see what they are.

  I think I need to have more tulips in pots next year!

Lots to enjoy in the garden

 With the sunny weather, the garden is blooming.  Tulips Ballerina and Brown Sugar above, in the border.

 I'm not sure what this one is - it was part of a mix a few years ago, but has repeat flowered.

 The inside of Brown Sugar.

 A pot of Negrita.

 It's not all about tulips though.  Here is a perennial Nemesia 'Confetti' which I have pretty much ignored but which flowers every year. 

 The scillas are coming to an end but that shade of blue is lovely.

 This was another tulip from the mix, but has also come back.

 Clematis Rosy Pagoda is still doing well.

 The lilac and Magnolia 'Susan' look lovely against the blue sky.

 This is Tulip Cairo which was a new one this year. 

 I received a patio apple from my sister for my birthday earlier in the year and it is flowering.

I planted a few tulip Danceline from last year in the border and several have reappeared.

 A world away from the brightly coloured tulips is this little viola - 'Freckles' which is very well behaved and seems happy in a pot.  I have a purple viola which seeds itself everywhere and is a bit of a nuisance.

Finally for now, an astrantia which is also in a pot and in a very sheltered part of the garden.  I bought it last year at RHS Chatsworth I think and the flower should darken to burgundy red as it ages.

The wonders of nature

 As we are staying at home as much as possible for the foreseeable future, it is rather kind of the weather to be giving us such sunny days.  (We have had some frosts overnight though).  I have been enjoying being out in the garden even more than usual and I think it will become more important to me this year.  Above is Clematis Rosy Pagoda.

 The ever faithful Lathyrus Vernus which I love to see every year.

 A double camellia given to me by my mum a while ago.  Although it may not be so good for insects, it still earns its place in the garden at this time of year.

 The beautiful blue sky behind the unfurling lilac and magnolia.

 Tulip 'Brown Sugar' getting ready to flower (this was last Saturday).

 Tulip Negrita also getting ready to flower.

 Brown Sugar today.  I would have liked to buy more of these tulips, but for the last two years they sold out before I could get to them.  They have lovely strong stems and (I will have to check) I think they are scented.

 Tulip Negrita today.

I was also rewarded by seeing this little ladybird enjoying nectar/pollen (my knowledge of ladybirds seems sadly lacking) from this rather bedraggled and nibbled Scilla.  (I was really pleased that my sometimes a little unpredictable camera produced this image.) 
Just a reminder that those little things that are so important and which I have rather taken for granted are still there, if I care to look and enjoy.

Early April in the Garden

 I do like this time of year - in fact I would go so far as saying that April to June is my favourite time of the year.  Everything is fresh and beautiful.
Above are tulip 'Negrita' from last year, which I forgot to remove from their pot and they have flowered again this year, so that was a lovely surprise.  This was last week.  The large expanse of gravel is in next door's garden, as since the wall came down, there is no boundary. However, we have decided to have a wall again, not a fence, so Chris has been very busy removing the remains of the wall and digging down to the foundations, ready for the new foundation and wall. It will look lovely, I'm sure. We are hoping to have it done by the summer.

 Lathyrus vernus has beautiful purples and pinks and brightens up a shady corner.

 Erythronium Pagoda looks so exotic and I am always pleased to see it back.  I took this photo last week too.

I planted a small tub of tulips in the Autumn which is brightening up the front door.  Purissima is the cream/white/green one and Angelique is the pinky/white double.

Angelique has a delicate blush of pink spreading over the petals.

 In the back garden, I have a couple of pots of lily of the valley.  I tried growing them in the border in the past but they weren't happy.  So far, they seem to like the pots.

 A Peony bud on 'Athens', I think.

Tulip Negrita this morning, opening out in the sunshine.

 My favourite, Ballerina, in the sunny border, enjoying a sunbathe.

 More Purissima and Angelique, with a Ronaldo at the back.

 Ballerina in the border.  The ones in the border have flowered much earlier than the new ones I planted last autumn.  I love the way the sun lights up the petals.

 Erythronium Pagoda this morning - lots more flowers now.

 A little group of Spring flowers - Hellebore, Pulmonaria, Lathyrus vernus, Anemone blanda, and lots of leaves,

 Magnolia Susan and the lilac tree against a Spring sky.

 I think this is Ronaldo, just getting ready to flower.

 Leaves of Camellia Yoimachi, an autumn/winter flowering camellia which I bought earlier in the year.  I am looking forward to seeing it flower later in the year.

Nemesia Confetti flowers - this plant has lasted outside over winter with no problems and has a delicate honey scent.
So, that's what I saw this morning...