THE YEAR SO FAR

It's been a while since I wrote this blog, but Gardener's World has returned to our screens, and that heralds the start of a new gardening year.  So, it's time to pick up your trowel and join me for a stroll around the garden.

The snowdrops were a delight, as they are every year, and they carpet the woodland floor, as well as popping up in every bit of border in the garden and quite a few lawns too, the naughty things.  They were here and then gone in a flash this year.  This photo was taken on 24th February, but a few days later they had gone over.

Although I wrote a post a few years back entitled, 'Help, I'm Becoming a Galathophile', I am not.  I just have just a handful of the 'fancy' ones.  This one is 'Trumps'.  Its point of difference is the green markings on the backs of the petals.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  We need to go back a month, to the end of January.  Can you spot what is going on in the photo below?

That's right, we had the tree surgeons in.  We commissioned an arborealist's report on the state of the trees in the garden and several were recommended for removal.  Among them were three huge Ash trees, including the ones on the left and centre of this photo.

Now you see them, and now you don't.  Yet in the photo below, apart from the stump by the Summer house that needed reducing, I don't really think the garden looks any barer with them gone.

It's been a wet Winter and the inevitable effect of driving heavy machinery all over the lawns is this...

A little remedial work and reseeding should sort it out in time.

While you were away it was time to prune the roses.  That's all been finished and the climbing ones tied in the wall.  They are bursting into new growth with the first reddish leaves appearing on the stems.

While the blog took a rest, the garden continued growing and flowering.  Here are a few of the hightlights.

The Helebores dusted with pink and green light up the shade under the trees in the woodland.  They were in flower before the snowdrops and are still looking lovely a month later.

I bought these bulbs for planting in a pot a few years ago, then replanted them in a border, where it's lovely to see they are persisting.  I had assumed they were one of those 'tricky' plants that wouldnt like it here in the heavy clay.

Pretty little cyclamen under the yew trees where nothing else (other then ivy) seems to like it.

That was then, and this is now.  Lets bring things bang up to date, with photos from this morning.

In the orchard the Narcissus Pseudonarcissus are enjoying the sunshine.  They have stood up to the recent windy days, when other taller daffodills have flopped over.  It's wonderful when something you've planted yourself starts to naturalise.

More daffodils are flowering in the woodland garden.  These are February Gold.  Early, but never as early as February in my garden. They are a medium sized daffodil with an elegant appearance in a deep rich yellow.

Also flowering in the woodland are primroses.  These were introduced from my parents garden which is a few miles away.  It seemed odd that there were none here already.  It seems just the stort of plant you would expect to see in a long established country garden.   I have a good few plants now. ready to split and spread around when I get a moment.

Lord Bryon is gazing out over the flowers in his glade.

The Rose Garden is tidy in the most part, with the various daffodils and narcissus in bud and ready to flower.  I've still got all the box hedging and will being going through all the rigmarole of monitoring and spraying for the box moth caterpillars again this year.  As you can see we still have plenty of trees left on this side of the garden too.

I'm putting a new iris bed in the rose garden.  The iris are all propagated here and replace some sedums and sweet williams.  They are mainly shades of pale blue and lavender from Cayeux Iris with some pale yellow ones given to me by a friend, and therefore known as 'Matts Yellow'.

The Long Border has been cut back but still needs a good tidy.  The sunlight has bleached this photo out a bit, but the Bergenia with its strong pink flowers and the Lime Green of the Euphorbia wulfenii look very vibrant.

Up in the Knot Garden, where we will complete this visit, the Photinia 'Red Robin' have produced their flame red leaves.  The bare branches of the Mulberry tree stretch overhead.  

As happens every year, the ditch behind us over spills and by the end of the Winter this area is wet and full of weeds.  I've decided to keep the border but reduce its depth by half so there is less to try to repair, and I've added some deciduous shrubs to give height.  The planting at the front of the bed is being relocated elsewhere in the garden.  

That's all for this week's blog.  Thank you for reading and I hope to see you again soon.