Spring Indoors

There's nothing more lovely than the start of spring. We've passed the 1st March, the official start of spring according to the Met Office and also the Spring Equinox, so spring is well and truly underway.  The daffodils are out in full force, tulips and bluebells are bursting through ready to follow and many spring garden plants like the forsythia, are either blooming or preparing to bloom. 

The weather is always so changeable in spring though, with warm sunny days where you can be outdoors and enjoy the garden and the birdsong to cold, wet, windy and even snowy days where it's not as easy to be outdoors for too long. This is why I love to have some plants and flowers indoors, to both cheer up the house on those changeable spring days and to reflect a little of the outside indoors. 

I find spring flowers so cheerful and uplifting and love filling vases of daffodils and tulips to spread a little spring cheer around the house. I also love orchids and colourful plants in the conservatory which add to the array of spring colours and make the conservatory a bright and sunny extension of the garden. 

First Spring Flowers

It's been quite wet, cold and miserable these last few weeks, but spring flowers are blooming in the garden again. It always surprising every single year how they seem to suddenly spring up at long last whatever the weather is doing. 

It's early March and according to the met office, spring has already begun. We've already seen the snowdrops and hellebores and before they've begun to fade back, the crocuses and the first of the daffodils have started to bloom. It's a welcome sight to see after the long winter months and an uplifting one too. There's a strong sense we're leaving winter behind and there's brighter and sunnier days to come. Some warmth at long last! 

The 'tete a tetes' are usually the first daffodils to bloom and there's quite a few groupings of them in the lawn and borders both front and back of the house. Some of the other larger varieties aren't far behind them and with a little warm sunshine will be in full flower too. Tulip and bluebell shoots are also pushing through the soil. 

The mornings are lighter and I've noticed the dawn chorus becoming noisier and the birdsong in the garden becoming louder. It's a lovely time of year and although the weather can change dramatically from one day to the next, the promise of the whole of spring and summer ahead is an encouraging  thought. 

The winter pansies are also full of flower as the days grow longer and heathers add brightness to the borders and pots. One of the borders is full of 'chrysosplenium macrophylium' with its pink flowerheads. Bergenia - elephant ear saxifrage - is putting on another show of pink with its flowers  and deep red stems. It stands out in the border. 

It's the beginning of show time in the garden again. The start of enjoying the flower displays that will now continue on and on through spring and summer and into the autumn. Time to be outdoors again. 

Changing Landscapes

We've had our cocker spaniel Ted for a whole year now. It's always amazing each day on our daily walks how the weather and landscapes look so different. We're usually out a few times a day and even during the day the landscapes and weather can change so much depending on the time of day and what's happening weatherwise. 

It's always a pleasure to be out walking whatever the weather, there always seems to be something new to see or hear. A new plant growing or flowering indicating a new season. Changing skylines as the sun reaches higher in summer, dips low in the winter or even just moves around in it's daily rotation from east to west, from dawn until sunset. Spectacular sunrises and sunsets. The warm sunshine, howling winds and wet rain on your face. The bird song varying from season to season and from bird to bird... The list is endless. Walking Ted is always my favourite part of the day, enjoying special time with him and time with nature. 

Here's a few pics from each month we've been walking together...

January and a puppy enjoying snow for the first time.

February and the trees are stark and bare, the woodland is wet and muddy, but the sky is blue and the clouds are high above the trees. 

Blue skies in March, the paths are dryer and the farmer's field is brown and dying back, rapeseed is shooting up in the neighbouring field. 

April and the daffodils have arrived, spring is here. 

May and the woodland has changed from mud, puddles and bare trees to a sweeping carpet of bluebells, unfurling buds on the tree canopy and fresh green foliage on the shrubs. 

June and the arrival of poppy time, wildflower meadows and fields full of yellow rapeseed. 

July, high clouds, crops in full growth. 

August and the golden fields as the crops are harvested. 

September and time to seed new crops once more, the fields harvested and ploughed in readiness.  

Beautiful October. Golden, yellows and reds! 

Late October and the fallen leaves hide the grass. 

Early November and the new crops start to grow.

Mid November and the first crunchy frosts of autumn. 

Late November and the days are drawing in, but the late afternoon walk is a treat when there's a beautiful sunset.

December and misty and foggy days descend, but still some stunning scenery as the park gains a whole new look. 

Time to cosy up and do those last minute preparations for Christmas! Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Spring Plants and Flowers in April

The garden has burst into flower this last few weeks. It seems to happen all of a sudden as soon as the daffodils start to fade back. Here are a few that are out at the moment - those April ones that I always look forward to seeing. It doesn't stop now, the garden just becomes brighter and fuller as one plant fades and another plant buds as the days become longer and warmer. 

My young and deep pink magnolia bush is opening up.  I try and enjoy its flowers while they last - a strong frost and they can be burned and spoilt, but for now they're enjoying the sunshine and showers. 

The bluebells are up and coming out - these are the Spanish variety and they do brighten up my garden both back and front. They start on pushing through their shoots as early as January and it's interesting to watch them at each stage until they're out in full bloom. 

The pansies in my pots and baskets have almost bubbled up and over in full colour after those gloomy winter months when they flower and try to brighten the days, but keep being swept back by the weather. Now they're bursting full again as they feel the warmth of the sun. 

I love the golden forsythias and the bright white of the bridal wreath shrubs. 

Forget-me-nots always give a splash of strong colour, I tend to let them seed and run riot amongst the borders!

Quince is another spring favourite too with its pretty red flowers tumbling and spilling against the front wall - I like to see a glimpse of it from the front window. 

Lugwort always makes for some welcome bright patches of colour in the borders in this early part af the season. It has interesting spotted foliage too. 

Pretty clusters of saxifrage colour the front of the borders. 

My wallflowers persist in flowering all year round - through all the seasons, but they are putting on a really lovely show of colour this April. And the last of the daffodils just crossing over with the growth and new blooms. Most of them have faded, but I have a few late flowering types. The daffodils have lasted for ever this spring, which has been uplifting on the colder days.