Finally, Real Colour

Published on by Catherine

It has taken a while, but the garden is finally embracing the arrival of spring! After a slow start to the season, the sun has awakened the remaining bulbs, and I’m happy to see some vibrant colors emerging. It’s not a grand display, but the colours of the flowers are visible no matter where I am in the garden. They’ve partly compensated for the performance of some other potted bulbs this year, mainly the Iris reticulata and Crocus.

Forget-me-nots are ready to fill gaps in the borders with their green foliage and bright blue flowers. Buds are swelling on the trees and shrubs, and the tulips are beginning to showcase their flower buds.

Don’t you just love Spring!

Here’s my selection of photos for this week’s Six on Saturday.

Hyacinth ‘City of Harleem’ is a gorgeous yellow hyacinth, and it’s a now a clear favourite with me. I haven’t grown hyacinth for several years as I’ve had mixed results, but this one can’t be faulted. At the risk of sounding gushy, it’s absolutely adorable.

Hyacinth ‘City of Harleem’

Hyacinth ‘Miss Saigon’. I’m also very pleased with this one, particularly its rich colour. It has a way to go before it can compete with the one above, but even so, I’d be very happy to grow it again.

Hyacinth ‘Miss Saigon’

Tulip humilis ‘Helene’. I grew Tulip humilis last year and loved it. It should have been planted in the borders after flowering but didn’t take that final step. It’s apparently bred for naturalising and I really need to make an effort to get the bulbs into the ground this year.

Tulip humilis ‘Helene’
Tulip humilis ‘Helene’

Fritillaria meleagris (Snake’s Head Fritillary): I planted a few pots of these last year, but so far, I can only see them in one area. I photographed these two wrong-facing flowers at the start of the week. A few more have flowered nearby, but since then, it has been too windy for photographs. They’re very pretty, and I hope they spread themselves around the garden.

Snake’s Head Fritillary

Aubretia. I bought this pot of Aubretia but had no idea where it would be planted. It’s languishing in the greenhouse, growing larger by the day, but it will probably end up in a pot near the greenhouse or the deck.

Aubretia

Mixed Flowering Bulbs. These seven pots are sitting on the step leading to the deck at the back of the garden. Even the pot of partially-grown Muscari ‘Mountain Lady’ has found a spot among the more impressive blooms. Still to make an appearance are Fritillaria pallidiflora (Siberian fritillary); hopefully, they will flower before too long.

We’ve enjoyed another beautiful week of sunshine, and I’ve been diligently watering the pots – even though it’s not my favorite task. Despite the strong, cold, north-easterly winds we’re experiencing, there’s better news ahead. This weekend’s forecast promises a ‘gentle breeze’ on Sunday, followed by ‘light winds’ on Monday. On top of that, we have another week of sunshine to look forward to! As the wind calms down, we should feel some warmth moving in.

I won’t be posting next weekend. I have a few other things I need to attend to – perhaps the tulips will oblige by being in bloom for the following week!

Retired professional horticulturalist, Jim, is the host of Six on Saturday. On his blog, Garden Ruminations, you can see what is growing in his garden right now and link to gardeners across the world.

I hope you all have a gorgeous, sunny and warm weekend! ☀️

Catherine x

27 thoughts on “Finally, Real Colour”

  3. You ought to find a spot in the garden for the aubretia as it spreads beautifully – do you have a rockery area? As for the pots they look terrific, I love the yellow hyacinth and despite saying I won’t grow hyacinths again (they flop dreadfully here) I think you have persuaded me to try a couple next year. And Tulip humilis ‘Helene’ is very pretty. Enjoy your week off – I think I am going to have to get the hose pipe out soon as my garden (and pots) are unusually dry.

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    1. I don’t have rockery area, Jude, but this afternoon I potted the aubretia into a fairly tall terracotta pot as a temporary measure. When it gets too big, I’ll plant it somewhere! 🤔 I watered the garden yesterday and all the pots will have to be watered again fairly soon. So unusual for this area.

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  4. Your table is looking so beautiful with all your bulbs, such a wonderful splash of colour! Your photos are a good advert for growing Hyacinths, I think we will all be trying after seeing yours!

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    1. Thanks, Pauline. I’ve never been a fan of Hyacinths, but I’m smitten with ‘City of Harleem’, and I like the yellow-purple combination with ‘Miss Saigon’.

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  6. A beautiful selection. I have a pale yellow Hyacinth that has just started flowering but I have to say ‘City of Harleem’ surpasses it. I’ll have to look out for that one and ‘Miss Saigon’ – it goes perfectly with the yellow. I’m glad spring had finally sprung up there.

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    1. Can’t tell you how happy I am to have a little bit of colour in the garden at last. Lots of sun, here but it’s cold. I have to keep reminding myself that this is only the first week in April and just because it’s sunny doesn’t mean that it’s also warm. 😁 Fingers crossed for a decent summer for all of us.

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  10. A friend of mine added a few things to my Farmer Gracy order last year, including some yellow hyacinths, and I just found them odd. But having seen yours I can understand the attraction! I love the early wild tulips like Helene, and they do look especially nice in pots where they don’t get lost among other emerging plants. (Thanks for the idea!) In fact, all your pots look wonderful Catherine!

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    1. I’m not very creative with pots, Cathy. I prefer one plant in each pot. It also makes it a lot easier to plant up the pot – I don’t have to decide what will go where and what colour works with it. Simplicity all the way for me. 😁

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  13. I remember your blog from back in 2019 and decided to stop by to see if you were still writing—so happy to see that you are! I realized I wasn’t following you, which is why I haven’t been getting any updates. Just hit that follow button, and I’m looking forward to catching all your beautiful posts from now on!

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    1. Hello, Ilze. Sorry for taking so long to respond, the past few weeks have been franticly busy! I missed a few comments, but I’m glad that you’ve subscribed. I’ll pop over to yours shortly to see what you’re doing! 😊

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      1. Hi! No worries at all—I completely understand how busy life can get! 😊 I’m just happy to connect. Looking forward to seeing you over on my page when you have a moment. Hope things calm down for you soon! 🌿

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