Snowdrops, unsurprisingly, as this is when you would expect to see them. These mature clumps are at the back of a border, between big shrubs, where they aren’t disturbed by me digging and replanting the smaller perennials, but this time of the year they are very visible as all the vegetation in front of them has died down. There are lots of fancy varieties available now, but there is just as much beauty in this, the species.
The winter aconite is another regular this time of year, and can form stunning carpets to brighten up these earliest of spring days. I could only see this lone specimen, but I am sure I used to have more. Hmm…
I mentioned my winter irises in my blog way back on 9th December, over two months ago. And they are still flowering! Not bad, eh?
This is another true winter flower – Chimonanthus praecox, or Wintersweet. It bears these interesting shaggy yellow flowers on bare stems, so is not the most visually stunning shrub, but they smell wonderful!
This pink beauty is another fragrant winter shrub – Daphne mezereum. Once again the flowers are held on bare stems, but are very dense, and a bush smothered in flowers is quite a sight, as well as being strongly scented.
This is the most stunning sight in my garden in the winter. A mass of self-seeded Cyclamen coum, all offspring of three corms planted at the base of this tree probably 15 years ago. One was dark pink, one was pale oink, and one was white. One had plain green leaves, one had patterned, and one had leaves almost white all over. From those three corms, all these babies have spread, and many others that I have moved around the garden. This display is right on the edge of my drive, by the road, and greets me and all my neighbours as we drive home. They grow best where little else will grow, in the thin dry soil among the roots of this tree, where they are dry even in winter.
The rest of the flowers I found today are the early spring flowers, like the above primrose. I have cultivated Primula in the garden too, but it is the simple, delicate wild ones that I like best.
The Hellebores are also in bud, and will soon be a picture. The spiky chap below is also a hellebore, but a species one – Helleborus argutifolius. Not everyone’s cup of tea perhaps, but it has strong evergreen architectural foliage.
Finally a true taste of spring – the first crocus!
