Spring flowers

A non-food post today; we’ve had really balmy weather for a few days, and the bulbs in the garden have started to come up. It’ s got me so excited I feel compelled to show some of them to you. This gorgeous frilly bonnet of a flower is a miniature daffodil called Rip Van Winkle; I planted these in October, and they’re popping up all over the garden.

Here’s a hellebore which, I sadly conclude, is the only thing that will grow under our rowan tree. I was aware of the old wives’ tale about it being a witches’ tree which prevents other plants from growing around it. I didn’t believe it, although the fuchias I put in around it last year all died – until this spring, a year into our ownership of this house, when none of the bulbs I planted under it have done anything. Not a single wood anemone, a single snowdrop, a single crocus – not a thing. And the weeds which, with the recent rain and warm weather have sprung up all over the garden, are conspicuously absent from the area around the rowan. Still; at least the hellebores are doing well, and they provided a useful habitat for dozens of overwintering ladybirds.

The first of the tulips are emerging. I love these straight, clean, plain ones, but I’ve also planted some really spectacular parrot tulips which haven’t come up yet; watch this space for photos when they appear.

2 Replies to “Spring flowers”

  1. perhaps your tree affects the Ph of the soil around it.
    And the one plant doing well is favorable to that Ph.
    Cedar trees also affect the Ph/acidity of the soil around them. They help the soil around them stay more dry, and many plants can not grow there in the presence of cedar trees.
    Might be worth checking into, if only for curiosity’s sake!!

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