Glorious Spring

Published on by Catherine

Perhaps it’s too early to label the Spring of 2023 as glorious. It’s been a miserable, cold winter, and spring got off to a poor start, but this week has seen a huge change in my little part of the world. The sun has finally returned (not every day – that would be asking for too much!) and temperatures have moved upwards rapidly! It’s great to have some real spring weather. Perhaps I should reserve that title until spring 2023 is almost over, for knowing my country as I do, we will have wild stormy days ahead, probably frost and possibly a dusting of snow, along with rain, sleet & hail! But today the sun is shining – and it’s glorious!

The two new containers below, sitting at each side of the patio, replace two small beds that were in front of the patio and a narrow border at the side. The fence on the left has work to be done to it and when complete, two decorative screens will be fixed to it. I’m hoping the effect will dress up the old patio. It’s a shady spot to sit on late afternoons in the summer, most welcome if it’s a warm day and I love having breakfast there on still, summer mornings.

The patio is old and in shade late afternoon in summer.

The spring bulbs will be lifted from the containers and planted in the ground after flowering. The narcissus and crocus will be replaced with summer flowering annuals or perennials, I haven’t a fixed plan at the moment – all ideas welcome! Heucheras and Aquilegias are also in the planters and I have Geum to add to the mix. I need to keep reminding myself that these planters are not big – it’s easy to get carried away with ideas! Perhaps the area needs one or two more of these made-from-decking-board containers!

Spring container

Camellia ‘Daintiness’ has been stunning again this year, something that never fails to surprise me, as I rarely have to do anything to keep it happy or in good condition. There’s no doubt that it’s getting too large for its corner at the side of the house and each year I look at it and tell myself that I’ll cut it back when it has finished flowering. I never do. Perhaps this year?

Camellia ‘Daintiness’

One of my springtime favourites, little Chionodoxa, has been spreading itself around. I think I might lift some when they die off, and pop them into other borders. I should have done that years ago.

Chionodoxa, also known as Glory of the Snow.

Nearby, Muscari are also spreading their wings and getting quite congested in places. Some of them will join the Chionodoxa in other borders.

Muscari is one of the little joys of Spring.
Muscari

The first flower bud on the new Exochorda has opened. This lovely shrub is Exochorda ‘Niagara’ and I expect it will be a couple of years before it becomes a fabulous, white-flowing spectacle. That’s something to look forward to.

The pearl bush, Exochorda × macrantha Niagara 

This has been my first Six on Saturday contribution for quite some time, thank you for joining me. It’s nice to be back.

Jim is currently hosting Six on Saturday, so why not pop over to see what others have been sharing – beautiful plants and flowers from all over the world.

Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are. 🙂

22 thoughts on “Glorious Spring”

  1. It certainly looks like spring has sprung there. Those containers (and their contents) look smashing. I keep hoping my Chionodoxa will spread to form a mini carpet/rug/mat – their flowers seem to get set upon here by slugs and snails. It’s great to have a virtual wander around your garden again.

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    1. Thanks, Graeme, I see you’ve been struggling with the weather too! I’m just happy to get a few good days at a time, and this week has been good. I’ll pop over to your site shortly and have a longer browse around!

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    1. Oh, that’s such a pity, Fred. Snails are our biggest problem here, I’d hate to have rodents eating the plants. I know you have plenty of other beautiful plants in your garden to enjoy though. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂

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  3. Welcome back! Beautiful photographs, I love the chionodoxa (have I spelt that correctly?) and the muscari are always a favourite. And your planters are wonderful, I love the colour of them, it sets the plants off to perfection!

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    1. Top marks for spelling! Thank you – the main planter on the patio (being replanted) is also black – I think it allows the colours of the to flowers shine. 🙂

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  5. I’m all too familiar with the should I/shouldn’t I pruning dilemma with camellias. You can go back a foot or so and still have leafy side shoots to prune to, that will give you flower next year. If you leave it until you need to take off more than a couple of feet, it will be to bare stems.

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    1. Thank you, Jim. Your knowledge and experience with camellias (and all things gardening) is invaluable. I’ll ponder the dilemma until it finishes flowering, then see if I can summon up the courage to do some pruning!

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    1. Thank you Noelle, it’s good to hear from you again. 🙂
      Hubby made the planters with some decking board, so there was barely any cost involved. So far, they’re working a treat.

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    1. It did come through twice, Rosie, but it was simple enough just to remove one. I love Muscari too, and I usually have a few pots of them growing around the patio. Not sure why I didn’t do that this year…note now in the diary for autumn planting. 😀

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    1. Thank you, Pauline. 🙂 The wind is very strong in our garden, and the camellia does take a bit of a hit, but I think it must have grown used to it over the years as it’s held up well.

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  9. Those planters are fabulous and I’d be tempted to leave the spring bulbs in them for next year and probably just add some annuals for the summer to spill over the sides. The heucheras will get bigger! I wish my Chionodoxa would stand up like yours, mine always seem to lie flat on the ground – I suspect they are looking for light as they are planted in a very shady spot. Nice to have you back in the SOS fold. I look forward to roaming around your lovely garden again.

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    1. Adding some annual could be a good idea, I expect I’ll have a few weeks to plan it out. Yes, the Heucheras will have to be moved elsewhere (probably by autumn!).
      Maybe you could try some of your Chionodoxa in pots at various spots in your garden to see which conditions they prefer?
      It’s Crocus I have problems with, Jude, they flop over very quickly in the borders and I don’t get the full benefit from them.

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