March winds.....

 March is definitely going for the 'coming in like a lion' route this year. After a cold but sunny end to February, the weather has changed to wet and windy. I put extra pegs on the laundry yesterday to stop it floating away, and last night must have been even windier as we woke to find the compost lid drifted off behind the fruit bushes, tubs of flowers over-turned, and the hazel clematis support and canes holding a climbing rose knocked over.




Luckily nothing seems damaged - though some dead wood from the climbing rose had broken off. Fortunately today is sunny and quiet, so after a few scratches and rose thorns digging into my fingers the garden is more or less back in order (I haven't scrambled after the compost bin lid yet though) and I can go back to enjoying the early Spring flower display.




There are still snowdrops flowering but they're beginning to be out-shone by the later flowering bulbs - daffodils, crocus, and a solitary hyacinth - and polyanthus.

 The forsythia, though, is still only in bud, so maybe there's more cold weather to come. I hope not, I'd rather like March to go out 'like a lamb' with sunshine and the first real heat.

 I've also spotted rhubarb pushing it's way up - though some warm day I should weed out the forget-me-not seedlings before they overwhelm it!

Easter

 Easter weather turned out rather gorgeous - two days of feeling like summer had arrived!

The front flower beds are filled with daffodils, while forsythia and bergenia are making a bright splash in the back garden

There are buds on the apple tree and blossom on the peach next to the kitchen wall

 Polyanthus still flowering, in all shades

 grape hyacinths/muscaria

 flowers on the self-set flowering currant

huge patch of bergenia

hyacinths

April flowers

April Fools Day was lovely and sunny - and fooled me into believing the rest of the month might be the same but it's already back to gloomy and cold.
Still the garden's flowers are brightening things up a bit.
















There's still lots of daffodils about but some later flowers appearing too.

















dwarf Red Riding Hood tulips in flower






and the larger Appeldoorn variety in bud




















flowering currant hiding the fence






wallflowers spilling across the patio

grape hyacinths/muscaria in pots

pale pink hyacinths

a riot of polyanthus flowers

forget me nots

and the first flower from the 'rescued' pansies

Mystery flower

Pottering around the garden yesterday, I spotted this flower. 

At first I assumed it was a very early bluebell but looking closer I wonder if it could be a blue hyacinth.

If so, it's a bit deformed with very few flowers but there are other fuller-flowered hyacinths in bloom

right now and I have grown blue hyacinths indoors before - all the garden hyacinths

are former indoor forced bulbs.

I don't suppose I'll know for sure, unless another year it has a full 'head' of hyacinth style flowers.

Spring Equinox

 Yesterday was the Spring equinox, so now we've officially left Winter behind. In typical weather fashion, the day started dull, cloudy and windy, and turned wet so I mostly admired the garden from inside and took photos today now the sun's returned














 Spring has sprung this last week with lots of later flowers appearing

hyacinths that started life a long while ago as indoor potted plants





forget-me-nots

 the first dog violet




grape hyacinths in a wall basket

 and even blossom on the peach tree














The polyanthus are flowering away still, trying to take over the front garden with an older variety

 and newer sorts, mainly garden centre 'rescues', in all colours in the back garden

There are daffodils in flower everywhere

 hanging over the paths

by the rhubarb patch

and in among the raspberry canes

 forsythia is brightening up the back garden and kerria japonica the front with yellow flowers

and there are patches of red from lettuce seedlings, 

newly 'rescued' bellis double daisies

 a bird-set flowering currant











 and a very unseasonal kaffir lily

and the rockery is smothered in a riot of colour.