Everything in my garden has suddenly gone whoosh! I’m running round the plot at breakfast, lunch and tea break – finding flowers that I’m certain were not there earlier in the day. Plants just seem to pop up overnight.
My favourite tulip, Burgundy, was only in bud for a day or two. Then by lunchtime, the flower was wide open. When the wind blows, they look like ribbons of silk scarves, dancing in the breeze. Lily-flower tulips have a certain elegance and movement. Much better than their stiff, cottage cousins, I think.
Hellebores make perfect ground cover in fading shades of purple and pink. As a contrast there’s tiny forget-me-nots in the borders, and the lawn is edged with a frill of scented wild violets. Blue and cerise pink make very happy companions.
Looking up, banks of cherries make a white cloud over the wild garden. There will be lots of fruit for the blackbirds- and us.
Hasn’t it been a fabulous year for blossom. Cold temperatures in January, followed by sunny, mild days in March, mean we’ve had the best year for cherries and magnolias for a long time. My planting is the wild cherry Prunus Avium. Simply beautiful- all year round.
If we don’t have any frost, there will be a record plum harvest. There’s enough to pick for the house too. Blossom on the breakfast table and by my bedside. One of the joys of spring.
Pieris Flaming Silver is planted in an enormous pot. It wouldn’t like my heavy clay soil, so I cheat with containers and ericaceous compost. It’s beautiful all year round with white heather, bell-like flowers and red new growth.
My favourite narcissi is white Pheasant’s Eye. Reliably comes back every year, and naturalises in borders and under trees.
White, highly-scented Narcissi Geranium is another glorious treat. My children used to call it the poached egg flower.
Brightening up a dark corner- Devon Red. The petals look sugar-coated in sunshine. A hardy flower which copes with hail and high winds in my garden.
Narcissus Ice Follies, viewed from the summerhouse, replace the snowdrops and wild anemones. Cowparsley will soon compete with native bluebells. It’s an ever changing scene.
I love these cheerful jonquils on the potting shed windowsill. A perfect match for forget-me-nots, and just the right size for jam jar flowers. Trees by the pond show a reflection in the window. And the last of the paperwhites, hyacinths and cyclemen are pressing at the glass.
And I’ve got company again! Opposite the garden gate are these beauties, let out onto grass for the first time this year. They look on incredulous as I dig and weed.
What sights do you love to see in your garden in April? Do get in touch and let me know. Thanks to Helen for hosting this end of the month view. Click on the highlighted words for more information. They are not advertising or affiliate links.
So very beautiful!
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Your flowers and tree blossoms are a good month ahead of ours. We don’t see that until May, when our tulip festival gets underway.
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Super photos Karen, You have a lovely garden and I can see it brings you great joy. Thanks for sharing your joy.
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Thank you so much Denzil. Thanks for taking the time to read and get in touch. It’s much appreciated.
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Lovely garden Karen. Must come an see it next time I am in your area
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A wonderful scene you’ve shared Karen. The Victoria plum blossom has turned already here and the apple blossom is about to pop. I am a little nervous as night time is still very cold and next week looks to be a return to seasonal norm.
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The spring blossom is very beautiful this year. Here I’m sure it is because the winter was colder than usual. Many plants are flowering earlier too.
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We don’t have anything going on here except rain melting snow, and we are grateful for that. 🙂
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Sending some sunshine your way x
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Lovely blog and pictures as always. Yes- blink and something new pops up! It feels like Christmas morning every day here.. I’m loving our ‘Shirote’ cherry blossom and the hundreds of ‘Thalia’ narcissus under our lime avenue ☺️
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I’m loving the idea of a lime avenue. Sounds so wonderful. And I bet there’s bats. They love lime trees. We saw our first bat last night. There’s usually 4 flying over our garden at night. They make the same circuit round and round, mesmerising to watch. Thanks for reading and getting in touch. Much love, Karen x
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Whoosh is a good word for it! Pieris does alright for me in heavy clay soil too. It’s borderline acid, probably about 6.5.
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I think I’ve been mollycoddling that pieris. Might try planting it in the ground to see how it does. Certainly takes a lot of watering in the summer and I’m trying to cut back on pots as we want to go travelling. You’ve set me off with your wonderful travel diary….. thanks for reading and getting in touch. Love Karen x
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I know what you mean, my little garden seems to be on steroids and every time i race home from work it has changed completely again! Great photos!
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Thank you Cathy. I can barely tear myself away from the garden. I’m running round and round before, at lunchtime and then after work. And each time I see something new. Isn’t nature wonderful. Thanks for reading and getting in touch. Love Karen.x
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Just lovely, Karen, your garden look beautiful.
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Thank you Kate. Luckily I’ve angled the camera so you can’t see all the weeds. They are bursting into life as fast as the flowers. I need more mulch!!!!! Xxx
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Don’t we all need more mulch!
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What a beautiful garden! So nice to see that we have the same flowers in our gardens at this time of the year!
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Thank you Anca :)) x
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A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures, especially the blossom. xx
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Thank you Mike. Sunny here today. I’m tackling my veg plot. It’s that magic moment when the soil is just right for raking yay! 🙂 X
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Are all the pics from your garden? Amazing, I must say! I don’t get many of those varities in India… but we surely have other blooms 🙂 check out, if interested…
https://gardening628.wordpress.com/
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Thank you. I will 🙂 x
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A lovely record of a beautiful month. Our blooms are remarkably similar – not having you knowledge I call all the narcissi daffodils 🙂
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Thank you Derrick. I must admit, I call them all narcissi. I might. Be wrong 🙂 x
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…oops! 😉… REAL natural woodland on your plot, unlike my created version. How lovely! 😀
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Hi Cathy. Thanks for getting in touch. Ah,it looks natural, but we planted it when we moved here 28 years ago. And we made the trees grow faster by planting them really close together. Which means we have to keep thinning them out ( good for the stove). If I only had one tree, I’d still be happy though. It would be an amelanchier. The blossom looks amazing today. Love Karen x
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Ah, ours just has catching up to do then, as it was planted in 2000 ☺
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:)) x
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Such an exciting time of year in the garden! Definitely agree with you on the lily flowered tulips. And you have
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The spring blossom does seem to have been exceptional this year. I do envy you for the wood an arboretum is on my wish list.
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Oh Brian, it’s only a spinney I’m afraid. Or mini wood as we call it. Still the woodpeckers don’t seem to mind. We’ve got loads of nesting birds this year. Hurray! Thanks for getting in touch. Karen x
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I like the lily-flowered the best too. My tulip flowers – especially those planted last autumn – are all very small this year. I’m wondering if our exceptionally cold winter is responsible. What wonderful narcissus and blossom pictures! Thanks.
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Thank you for your kind comments Cathy. Did you notice if your tulip bulbs were smaller than usual when you planted them. I made a mistake with some mine and ordered small bulbs. It makes such a difference to the flower size. This Year I will check the bulb size before paying for them. x
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I had a theory that it was to do with the ground being frozen for almost two months after they were planted. All the bulbs already in the ground were just fine, normal size.
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I agree, your tulip is beautiful! Your blossom is wonderful, doesn’t it look stunning against such a blue sky. My Pieris seems happy enough on my heavy clay soil, you have a lot more flowers though!
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Thank you Pauline. A blue sky certainly is the best accompaniment to spring flowers. I keep threatening to plant that pieris – it takes so much watering all summer. Might do so now you’ve said yours is ok. All the best. Karen x
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Beautiful !!!! You are so blessed !!!
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Ah, thank you. But you haven’t seen the record breaking brambles and all the weeds. There is always an up and a downside to having a large garden. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment x
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All are beautiful, but oh, that Burgundy tulip! Divine!
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Thank you Eliza xxx
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