Spring is springing ..

Well that felt like a very long winter for some reason … but spring is most definitely here!

I usually enjoy the darker winter days, an opportunity to hunker down and regroup. But with plans formulated the lack of motivation to do anything becomes a little tiresome by the end of January. But there are some beautiful things to punctuate the darkness, one of my favorites being the winter flowering cherry, Prunus Autumnalis. Quite a gnarly tree through the lighter months of the year but then becomes almost ethereal from November through to March when it’s produces the most delicate flowers on its bare branches. This is a must have tree for any garden. ( I actually borrow the view of my lovely neighbours).

The next little plant that lightens both the ground and my mood is the snowdrop. They are like a tiny light at the end of a dark, damp tunnel. Fully deserving of their following of galanthophiles! Although available as bulbs they don’t seem to take very well so we always plant them ‘in the green’. So now is a great time to get your hands on some.

Another winter favorite of mine are hellebores. With a massive range of colours from the simplest white Niger to fancy double flowers of purple, pink, yellow and even nearly black Hellebores Orientalis. The Hellebore Niger flower earlier, from December through January, giving them the name Christmas Rose while the peak flowering time of Hellebore Orientalis is from February through to April. Hellebores get a bit of a bad press as their flowers tend to nod down so you can’t see into them without stopping to lift their heads and have a peak at the beautiful intricacy of their flowers …. I think this just adds to their charm!

N xx