Springtime in Paradise
Monday, April 25, 2011
Just when you thought it just couldn't get any better this
Spring, along comes April and blows us away. No frosts, little
rain, warm sunny days and mild nights. What we dream of every year
but so rarely comes true. Without doubt the best month of the
year!
All the bad thoughts of the extreme winter banished in a flash
before the losses become clear as the year progresses but already
there are some notable survivors like my beloved impatiens
tinctoria, some salvias from Mexico that should be tender and the
long established dahlias in the Red Border which are showing good
growth. The blossom on trees and shrubs is incredible and so early.
The viburnums notably x caricephalum, rhytodophyllum and plicatum
are 3 weeks earlier than normal.
Spuds planted in the last week of March are up and growing away
strongly and broad beans started in the poytunnel are already in
flower. And don't mention the grass on the lawns - it is determined
to give the new mower a serious workout!
Weather Report
With just 5 days to go it is looking possible that we will have
no frosts in April for the first time I can remember in the 35
years I have lived here (Fingers crossed - we mustn't get to too
compacent)
A max of 24.5C last Saturday and a min of 2.9C mid month. Just a
few showers so the ground is quite dry and we have started to water
the veg and fruit garden and the particularly well drained sections
of the garden. Light winds for the most part generally from the
easterly quarter. The mild weather has allowed us to move outside a
lot of overwintered plants from the tunnels and frames freeing
space for pricked out seedlings.
Garden Update
Finished the border clean up and done all the weeding - very few
weeds. Whether this is due to the very cold weather, the lack of
rain in April or our addiction to eradicate weeds at an early stage
over the years I can't say but it certainly makes the Spring clear
up a lot easier! Remember one years weed is said to be seven years
seed.
We have taken the opportunity to move some larger plants around
the garden to more suitable locations and started to refresh some
of the longer established borders. This year we are also trying to
cut off all the hellebore seed heads before they shed their seeds.
I always advise other gardeners to do this in my talks but must
confess but I don't always practise what I preach.
We continue to keep up with sowing the last of the seeds (mostly
tender stuff) and prick out earlier sown seedlings, having sown
around 300 varieties since January thereby proving I am totally
nuts!! Relatively few failures this year although there are always
a few stragglers which may need some stratification or especially
in the case of clematis a lot of patience. Some species forms
especially in the viorna group have been recorded as taking up to 3
years to germinate and another 3 to make flowering plants. If
nothing else it gives you a reason to live and such a thrill when
they finally do flower and as ever with seed sowing you never know
quite what the flowers will be like because they rarely come
true. All part of the fun and magic of seed sowing and why I love
it so much. As Gertrude Jekyll once famously remarked "The love of
gardening is a seed that once sown never dies"
Whats looking good?
Almost everything, except the stuff that died in the winter! I
really have moved on from this and am looking forward again - the
chlorophyll in my veins is rising rapidly!. The lawns have
benefitted from the turf replacement regime we have conducted over
the last few years although the cockchaffer grubs are doing their
best to ruin it again. We have already had some May Bugs on the
wing on the recent mild nights - so early like everything else this
month.
The anemones, hellebores. and aquilegias in succession, stalwart
members of the buttercup family, have been superb but best in the
family have been the early clematis: alpinas, macropetallas and
just now clematis koreana "Blue Eclipse"
Talking of blue and I mean serious in your face blue, nothing at
the moment can compete with the Himalayan blue poppies the form
known as meconopsis Lingholm Hybrids, so far proving to be truly
perennial unlike many in the group. Such big flowers too, up to 4"
across.
Rheum palmatum atropurpureum with huge red rhubarb leaves up to
3 feet is quite a sight and will continue to grow until it sends up
a huge 7 feet flower spike by early June. Alongside this and in
front of a mature shrub physocarpus "Darts Gold" there is a lovely
bleeding heart from the Pope's who were at Hadspen House in the
1980's and 1990's which picks up the golden foliage of the
physocarpus just beautifully. Normally it is prey to late frosts
which spoils it but not this year.
Hostas heve really enjoyed the weather with no frost to damage
their delicate emerging leaves and no slugs or snails because it
has been so dry. One of the best is "Golden Oriole" which emerges
yellow unlike many yellow forms which colour up later in the
season. They need more sun than most hostas.
Plenty of other plants just too numerous to mention all
revelling in the sunshine and the fact they have survived for
another year. Just like us really!
Wildlife
The final phase of the amphibian trilogy unfolded this month.
Forget the frogs and toads - the newts are back in town! I was
thinking about a title like "Newts on the P---" but thought
better of it not to offend my more sensitive readers. They (the
newts!) do seem to enjoy spawning time and are big show offs (we
only have common newts) but they dress up in all their finery, only
the males, and display their swimming prowess before looking for a
mate. To be honest I only see them showing off but they are far
more discrete in their love making techniques unlike the
exhibitionist frogs and toads who will do it anywhere!! Hope all
their tadpoles do well to provide for future generations. The pond
is now full of them.
Tomorrow is a big day for the Paddock Pond when we receive a
delivery of rudd and carp to replace all those we lost in the
winter and we can't wait to have the fish back again. Something has
really been missing not seeing their colour and movement in the
pond.
Pied flycatchers are back in their nesting box again, busy
little birds in their black and white waiter suits. Some redstarts
too and recently the swallows in good numbers - it really does feel
like spring now.
Orange tip butterflies on the wing since early April and the odd
dozy tortoiseshell butterfly, and a small blue butterfly I saw
briefly yesterday but not for long enough to name
The bluebells in the woods are wonderful and there is nothing
like them for atmosphere and magic, and as there are more of them
in the UK than anywhere else in the world we should be proud of
them and perhaps they should be our national flower?
Visits
One talk this month at Bronwydd Gardening Club completed our
very enjoyable winter/spring season which gives us a chance to
become visitors ourselves.
We went to a good Rare Plant Fair in Quenington, near
Cirencester earlier this month and now is certainly the time to
visit these Fairs. Aside from Rare Plant Fairs ( www.rareplantfairs.
co.uk), there is good one on Moday 2 May at Hergest Croft,
Kington, Herefordshire (www.hergest.co.uk) and
one of the biggest of the year at Hampton Court, near Leominster on
5 May with over 80 stalls in aid of the Red Cross (www.hamptoncourt.org.uk)
Our friends Tony and Sylvia will be attending all these fairs with
their tremendous range of rare and unusual woodland plants - go to
their web site at www.shadyplants.com
On the way back through the Cotsowlds from Quenington we took a
detour through the lanes and were delighted in old beechwoods to
come across clumps of helleborus viridis occidentalis growing
amongst bluebells and wild violets, a charming combination. Nature
does it best even at times of such richness in the garden.
Hellebores in the woods. Said to have been introduced by the
Romans and there were lots of them in the Cotswolds as evididenced
by the ruins of their villas.
Finally, enjoy your gardens and good luck with all your ventures
and please do come to our Open Day on Sunday 24 July from 1 - 5.00
pm. Let us hope we have a summer this year to remember for all the
right reasons!
Sorry for the lack of pictures this month due to technical
difficulties and extreme tiredness!!