Snowdrops and Lesser Glory of the Snow In a Vase on Monday - 10 March 2025

Today I am linking into Cathy's post showing some of the garden spring flowers from my garden.

The first of the blooms picked this morning were the last two snowdrops in good condition.  These are from Galanthus Pride of the Mill.  This was a gift from my friend Brenda. These have been really slow to increase , and I wonder whether moving them to an 'improved site' may help.   When I put all the flowers and leaves in the vase I thought I ought to put something in to give a sense of scale, but with my two small soldiers they look even taller than they are. The kneeling soldier is just four inches high.

To complement the snowdrops there are a few of the Cyclamen coum which come up year after year, and develop their own colour variations.  Coming up again which I am delighted with is the Scilla sardensis also called Lesser Glory of the Snow. The leaves are from Corydalis cheilanthifolia.

We have had some warm and sunny weather during the last week, and spring flowers are raring to go.  The cooler weather this coming week will hopefully help to prolong this most favourite of times in the garden for me.

Six on Saturday - 8 March 2025

 After a fine week which started off with a walk along the coast, I've been able to do a little pottering around in the garden, and have more moving around to do this weekend.  However for this get together over at Jim's here are six spring topics from the garden.

1. On the table in full view of the kitchen sink, the small pot of Crocus heuffelianus 'Shock Wave'continues to delight me. Although they have been the most expensive crocus bulbs I have ever bought, from the number of flowers alone per bulb, and their resilience to weather, they have have an excellent choice.  Of course I did not know that at the time of buying but I had confidence in the recommendations of a grower such as Rob Potterton.

Crocus heuffelianus 'Shock Wave'

2. I noticed that there are a number of noses of little bulbs showing above ground, and I found a barely legible label which read Chionodoxa sardensis. I had failed to add those to my plant spreadsheet, but luckily I was able to search the blog and found that I had bought them as bulbs, grown them on in pots and then planted them out.  For me the fortunate thing is that these little plants are now known as Scilla sardensis.  The new label or list will bear that name.

Scilla sardensis

3. There is something about this garden that just does not suit daffodils, and despite this I could not resist picking up some pots ready grown from a plant stall in Dunster. They were in tight bud, but have been glorious this past week on the round sitting circle table.  The weather has been so good, we have had coffee there several times this past week. I think I am just going to keep these over and grow them again in pots next year.

Baby Moon Daffodils

4. And for several years, the Crocus minimus Spring Beauty is back again, for fancy pattern and delicacy this one has top marks.

5. This little primula is just starting its weeks of flowering. Its habit is very similar to the juliae group and must have been a natural cross and it has been growing strongly and just about the best flowering primula for around 45 years, even growing well in sunny situations.

6. And finally bud break on the Amelanchiers,

and just below the Amelanchiers the tight clipping on the balls of Golden Lonicera last year, has kept them much neater that in previous years.

I hope the weather continues to favour gardening, and until next week, Happy Gardening.

A glorious day for a walk

After weeks we are having blue skies, and frosty nights.  It is fine weather for a walk, and this walk offers views, sea air, exercise, and  a bit of botanising and bird watching.

We've walking along to the end of the Brean Down Peninsula a number of times.  We had thought of going of Sunday but with the fine weather, the car park and paths would have been very busy.  It was a quiet Monday and therefore with picnic prepared we departed with no expectations other than just to just enjoy the outside.

The tide was going out, and when we sat right at the end in amongst the Victorian naval fortifications to eat our lunch, we watched the sea gradually receding to expose rocks. Earlier on our walk  the morning  sea mist gradually cleared to reveal clearly the islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm with its lighthouse. 

There are a few weather battered Hawthorne Trees, and on the less windy side towards the north of the promontory, this tree was having to bear a heavy load of ivy where the deep purple fruit will soon be ready to feed the birds. 

Overlooking the Western Super Mare bay we paused to admire the views

Birdsong carried in the still clear air, and there were lots of LBBs, and robins. 

 

Six on Saturday - 1 March 2025

On this first day of spring,the garden, having had a few days of bright sunshine, is certainly getting into gear.  The news described the first of March as the end of winter, but I thought it the spring equinox.  I prefer to focus on this gardening at the moment or my head will burst with everything else going on. Those of us who love to garden and to note the changes in our gardens, meet up over on Jim's post.  If that is something you would like to join in with, even from time to time, Jim has some guidance. 

Here are Six from the garden on this gloriously sunny spring day.

1. This crocus is small but beautiful and a true delight. Last year I was not convinced of its name, and hopefully someone will be able to name it. It certainly has done very well overwinter in the ground, unlike a couple of the other yellow varieties I had bought a couple of years ago.

2. Seriously I would love to be able to increase this gorgeous little Crocus.  I bought the bulbs last autumn from Pottertons, and I am getting many blooms from each little bulb.  I appealed to The Crocus and Colchicum group on Facebook for guides on how best to do this, and the author of an excellent article 'Botanical Bulbs' sent a link to an article they have written. I'm not so dedicated as to go the whole hog, however there are some good tips, and hopefully next year, I shall have more of these bulbs.I look forward to even more Crocus heuffelianus ‘Shock Wave’ blooms opening during the sunny weather.

3. For seven year I have been enjoying the colourful spring foliage on Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem'. This is the first spring that it is doing its uncurling of delicate foliage with its roots down in the ground.

Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem'

4. One of the largest and last of the snowdrops this to grace the garden is Galanthus Marjorie Brown. It is described as a strong growing elwesii var. monostictus with large flowers and glaucous leaves, and it started to emerge weeks ago, each bulb having three leaves, it almost looked like it was going to be a grey leaved tulip. 

5. Of course I am delighted that the primula are starting to flower again in the garden. This Primula juliae 'Port and Lemon' has done really well in the garden since it came here four years ago.  Easy to divide and its name a little teaser. Its lemon coloured blooms and its bronze leaves are easily recognisable. Here the sun and the camera have colluded to bleach out the port coloured leaves.

Primula juliae 'Port and Lemon'

I was rather disappointed when reading the result of RHS trials of Primulas in their March 2025 edition, to find that Primula vulgaris 'Taigetos' has no current suppliers.  How fustrating is that to someone like me who has just the right situation for it!  Anyway, I consoled myself by setting off in wellies to check on a local bank of primroses just a few fields away from the house.  In another two weeks it will be in its full glory.

6. The sun is bringing out bumblebees and other insects, and drawing my attention to the various plants inviting them to visit.

The sap is rising, buds and bugs setting to do their thing, let us get out there and enjoy that.  

And because it is St David's day, and my David likes little things too, here is what is left of my Narcissus cyclamineus

Narcissus cyclamineus

From The Garden - Six on Saturday - 21 February 2025

As usual I am joining in with Jim as he posts his garden ruminations. This regular post of mine covers six things from my garden. 

1.  This week arriving in the post was this little treasure.

Camellia Fairy Blush 

It is still in its pot, but not wanting the flowers to get bruised and damaged in the strong winds it is gracing the conservatory.  I am not sure whether our soil will suit it, although I have seen the odd camellia growing in front gardens, so it destined to be potted on with ericaceous compost after flowering, into in slightly larger pot. Hopefully over the next couple of years at least, I will be able to have it as a conservatory plant during the winter.  

 

I've been looking at testing kits and seen digital Ph testers that also test for moisture.  If anyone has experience of successfully using these I would be very pleased to hear from you. This would be quite useful in gauging the humidity in my large pots in the garden as well.

2. In the front garden, the very first variety of snowdrop I planted there was most probably one that I either brought with me from my last garden, which came fromHill Close Gardens in Warwick, or were bought on the first visit to Shepton Mallet Snowdrop fair when we first moved.  It is really happy in the hot front garden, increasing well.  A request for a name was generously suggested by Galanthophiles as being Galanthus 'x valentinei', which is a name given to all hybrids between nivalis and plicatus with one mark.  Looking this up I found that in nature its range is NW Turkey, which explains perhaps why it is thriving and increasing well, self seeding and germinating under the leaf litter. I have many other plants in that area which come from Mediterranean type climates as it is very sunny there.

Galanthus 'x Valentinei'

3. Another snowdrop which is doing very well in the back garden is Galanthus Sprite. The green scratches on the outside certainly make it easy to identify.

Galanthus Sprite

4. To bring more colour to this week's post, what better than the yellow hellebore which seems to be doing well though its nectaries have yet to turn the good golden colour they had previously, but they will do so as they have only just emerged.

5. Yesterday I went to the Snowdrop Festival at Shepton Mallet, and did not come back with any new snowdrops!  I can't say that I didn't come back without any plants!

I already have Primula Blue Horizon which is at the bottom of the picture, and previously our leader kindly gave me some back history for that: AGS Primula book lists 'Blue Horizon'as a julianae hybrid and describes it as a sport of 'Wanda' P.C. 1950. Therefore when I saw for sale Primula vulgaris 'Hall Barn Blue', I just had to get that so that I can do some comparisons.

Primula vulgaris 'Hall Barn Blue' in pot

6. Another Primula came home, and will give a lovely touch of yellow and hopefully will self seed, so I shall be leaving the flowers to set seed. This is the Oxslip, and I am looking forward to planting it out once it stops raining.

The start of the week was cold and dreary, and yesterday it was warm and wet and dreary...today I hope we are going to have some sun.