Six things from the garden on the First Saturday in April 2025

 Weatherwise the week can be summed up as sunny, unseasonable warm days, and windy.  It is definitely spring time in the garden, with the slow worms basking and slithering quickly away when disturbed.  For this collection or SOS: Six on Saturday of things gardening, I join in with Jim.

1. The Amelanchier is in full flower, about a week early compared to a couple of years ago, and already the ground below is covered with the light confetti of discarded petals.

2. Below the trees are a few of this lovely coppery  Tulipa Whittalii Major, which has hardly increased over the years, but at least it has not gone backwards.  Maybe I ought to give it a little feed and mulch perhaps. The other species tulips are also doing their thing rather well.

Tulipa Whittalii Major

3. One of the purchases from the HPS Spring Plant Fair at Yeo Valley was a trio of pots of Tulip praestans 'Shogun'.  After moving the pots around to find the best position, I decided on planting them in the back garden near the Cornus 'Midwinter Fire' as the colour of its stems are so similar to the tulips.

Tulipa prasetans 'Shogun'

4. I bought a few more plants...Oops. I meant only to add a few more primula and a couple of those came home including Primula 'Dark Rosalenn'.  Derry of Special Plants again brought some choice small shrubs.  Already on my wish list after seeing a fair few on SOS, this little Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca 'Citrina' is full of potential, i.e. it may be small but I have great hopes for it.

5. The second small shrub had been one which had caught my eye several times over the years: Tasmannia lanceolata also known as Drimys lanceolata. The dark thick shiny leaves and red stems are most attractive, and I fully intend to try it in my cooking sometime soon. Just like the  Pseudowintera colorata 'Red Leopard' which I also have used very successfully in a sauce,  Both pots will be moved to a shadier position for the Summer. 

Tasmannia lanceolata

From the flowers and with the help of a magnifying glass, this shrub is a 'He'. 

6. When it gets as sunny as it has been during the last week, one of my spring reorganisation tasks is reviewing my succulents, which spend the winter in the conservatory. The conservatory becomes a little too hot when it is shut up over the day, so plants are generally moved either out into the garden but whilst there could still be a frost at night, they either go onto a shelf by the window in the shed, or are bunched up on windowsills throughout the house. Pride of place this week is one of my favourite succulent  Crassula 'Buddha's Temple', not just because it is so lovely, but one of the young plants is flowering.  The last time I had a Crassula 'Buddha's Temple flower was 2014! 

That's it for this week folk!