The view at the end of March is distinctly yellow ! It is the predominant colour and leaps out to smack you in the eye from daffodils, forsythia, kerria, japonica and cowslips. Now, although not a fan of yellow flowers generally, I can make an exception for all these heralds of Spring as they are so very welcome at the end of a dreary winter.
The pond is full of frogspawn, and the frogs are still having a froggy - riot in there, a non stop party to which all are invited. The first clump of spawn appeared overnight on 12th March, to be followed by dozens more over the next few days. The marginal plants have been triggered into growth already and Caltha Palustris (Marsh Marigold) is in full flower.
Although Spring is extremely welcome, I always feel a brief wave of despair when I look at the garden, as although lots of things are growing, there are still huge stretches of bare earth. I can never fully visualise how the garden will develop that exuberant abundance later in the season. The lush growth and flowers of summer are hard to imagine at this time of year. This is when blogging comes into its own, as I, like all garden bloggers, have a million squillion photos of the garden throughout the seasons, so it is easy to remind myself how the garden burgeons over the next few weeks. Looking at photos can be so useful, as they are hard evidence that things will improve!
Cowslips by the pond |
The sub- tropical garden hasn't had the battering is usually gets every winter, and hopefully there has been no check to growth, as the palms and more tender plants have had no need to recover from very low temperatures.
The geraniums are well into growth, and I do like them at this time of year, as they are like Yorkshire puddings on a tray - all neat and round and uniform. I know they are just biding their time before they begin their annual sprawl!
All the roses are now in strong growth, including the dozen or so bare root plants which are just beginning to establish. In the photo above is a hedge of 'Charles de Mills' , underplanted with Rosa 'Garden Party'. All have remained in leaf throughout the winter, giving welcome structure to the garden.
All the Euphorbias are looking splendid at the moment, fresh and colourful, dense and compact. They are a lovely dark contrast to the pastel colours of the flowers.
This is Clematis Armandii, flowering for the first time, and is is another plant which breathes a sigh of relief when the winter passes without a spell or two of really cold weather. It is a tender plant which really benefits from some winter protection, but it is well worth the effort. The flowers are large and gorgeous, and I thought they were scented, but this one certainly isn't.
The borders are springing into growth, perennials are pushing through, shrubs are beginning to leaf up and bulbs are flowering. Some shrubs are flowering, mainly forsythia, Kerria, Magnolia Stellata and Flowering Currant (Ribes).
Primula Denticulata (above) the Drumstick Primula, sits well with some naturalised hyacinths (below), which were originally grown in the house, as forced bulbs.
There is good news in the greenhouse as the Auriculas have started to bloom, so I have moved them outside onto the old stepladders, which desperately attempt to morph into an Auricula Theatre. The first one to flower was a large double, in an unusual delicate orangey - yellow, and it was followed soon after by a tiny single, dark red . I am very cross with myself as I have lost the labels for both, so if anyone out there knows the name of these little beauties, please would you let me know!
The 'EOMV' has been a real pleasure to put together this month, as I have had a wealth of subjects to choose from to photograph ! Throughout winter, it is usually a case of 'Hunt the bloom', and there is no selection process. If it's in flower, it gets photographed. This month, for the first time in this new season, I have had a profusion of subjects, which means that Spring has most definitely sprung!
You can see many other 'End of the month views' at 'The Patient gardener', hosted by Helen Johnstone. There is a big diversity of gardens from around the globe, and some excellent blogs to hop across to.