With many of our gardens showing signs of spring, lots of us will be keen to get outside and begin clearing our borders and pruning back those wayward shrubs.Continue reading
Beware of what lies beneath!
Tag: spring
When to Mow the Lawn in Spring
Traditionally, lawns are cut between March and October, when the weather is mild enough for the grass to grow. But there is no hard and fast rule about when to give your lawn it’s first cut of the season, it depends on the weather conditions in your area and the type of soil you have.
Blooming Flowers Out of Sync
Between Christmas and New Year I always like to wander round the garden to see what is in flower in the middle of winter. This year, as well as the usual winter flowering plants that I would expect to see, there were some unexpected surprises like lavender and roses, that shouldn’t be flowering in December!
Acer palmatum ‘Orange Dream’
I can’t get enough of Acers! In the Spring the fresh young leaves light up the garden with youthful promise; the leaves dance around in the summer breeze like colourful handkerchiefs and in the Autumn their fiery colours give us the most spectacular natural fireworks display. People think they are difficult to look after, but all you need to do is protect them from cold winds in winter and strong sun in summer.
Sycamore tree leaf
Over the last few days the leaves on this sycamore tree have started to unfurl. I adore the crinkly copper-coloured new leaves – a sure sign that Spring has arrived, albeit accompanied by hail storms.
Snowdrop
I rescued this little beauty from the garden today and brought it inside to photograph, out of the wind and rain – raindrops on snowdrops.
Helping our Feathered Friends
I have always admired topiary hedges clipped into animals, people or other sculptural shapes. So I decided to clip one of my box hedges into a topiary man. His eyes and buttons are dried Eryngium seed heads.
When it snows, we have a ready-made snowman!
Primula vulgaris (Primrose)
The wild primrose is pale yellow with a darker yellow centre and is commonly found on banks and in woodland clearings. It’s name means ‘first rose’ and is also known as ‘Easter Rose’, although it is not a member of the rose family. When you see it flowering, it is a sure sign that spring is on the way. The flowers are edible. Easy to grow and will self seed. Perennial, flowers March-April
The brightly coloured primroses sold in garden centres are cultivars and are treated as annuals.
Bulbs to Light Up Spring
Although we are just into autumn, now is the time to think about spring flowers in your garden. Daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and crocuses are widely available right now and will give you a stunning display for very little cost and effort. There is something quite uplifting about the thought that in a few months these lifeless, uninteresting shapes will herald the start of a new gardening year.