76. Spring Blossom
Prunus Persica Melred
The walled garden has been rather neglected over winter - life and the weather got in the way. But a week of early spring sunshine has focused my attention again and the outlook for next week is lots more sunshine, so I took a walk around the garden this morning to make up a list of chores to do. Spring has definitely sprung.
The fruit and cherry trees are in full blossom. My ornamental cherries seem to flower in a predictable sequence which means that I have something in blossom from mid January (Prunus Mume) until late April (Prunus Amanogawa) and with colours ranging from the deepest pink (Persica Melred) to a delicate white (The Bride). There were hundreds of native bees buzzing around the blossom this morning.
The magnolias and camellias are all out in flower. Two of the magnolias have been growing in large pots for the last 20 years so aren’t that big, but they do flower reliably every year. I feed them regularly with ericaceous plant food and make sure to keep them very well watered, particularly during autumn (September - November) when the buds are forming. The camellias are a mixture of varieties, most of them with semi-formal or double formal flowers. They are usually 1-2 year plants from Burncoose Nurseries which are grown on in pots. Eventually they will be planted out as a camellia hedge.
I didn’t put a lot of spring bulbs in last autumn, so am relying on those that were already there. The St Patricks Day daffodills always flower around the 17th March and will last through to the end of April. They have a lovely lime yellow colour which makes them glow in the dark and the flowers last much longer than other varieties. They are planted in small clumps for maximum effect. We often use muscari (grape hyacinths) for flower school so I have bought a few pots of white and blue varieties to go in the garden. And the scented geraniums have survived well through the winter and are starting to flower now, a lot earlier than usual.
The best surprise was the proteaceas. They have been covered with horticultural fleece for the last 4 months so I unwrapped them today to find them healthy and with lots of new flower buds. They look beautiful in the sunshine. The Telopeas (waratahs) are just about to open - they are spectacular when they do. Any rainwater collected in standing buckets or wheelbarrows is used on the proteas - they much prefer it to the local United Utilities tap water. It still gives me a real kick to see flowering protea plants growing so reliably in this corner of the not-so-sunny North West of England.
There are a lot of chores to be done to get the garden ready for spring. All the fruit trees will be repotted, the raised beds need to be prepared for summer planting and the strawberry bed needs dividing. The tomato and potato pots also need moving / emptying / reorganising to get them ready for planting. It is going to be a busy couple of weeks.