
The start of Spring is always one of the loveliest times of year. The wild daffodils under the pleached hornbeam really lift my spirits, but I also have inherited lots of wonderful daffodils which grow on the (Cornish) hedge. They have grown there for many decades and there is quite a range of varieties so the flowering goes on for a long time. The scent from them is superb.
Of course, there are also lots of double primroses in the garden, although there have been some in flower since December they really get into their stride in April. This year the wild single primroses are flowering beautifully everywhere. I must remember to dig them out and move them before the flowering is over and I forget which is which!
It has been another very wet winter and I am only just starting to be able to get onto the ground in the front garden and start weeding. The soil is very wet and heavy so it isn’t easy. The couch grass and Yorkshire fog (if you are puzzled that is a sort of grass) have taken advantage of the wet winter to thoroughly infest the flower beds. It is very disspiriting and slow work trying to remove it. Couple that with quite a long dry period now and strong wind. So as I disturb the wet, claggy soil to weed the wind dries the surface out. This is not good for any new plants I am planting. Oh, why do we garden! But I have plans! The beds which have very bad couch grass are going to have annual flower seed sown in them this year while I work on the weed infestation. The peony beds, where the ground is drier anyway, don’t have the same problems and last year I experimented with two sorts of mulch on the beds to try and supress weeds. This has had some success. I think it has reduced the work I need to do there and it will certainly help improve the soil.
The peony beds are, at the moment, really coming alive with the beautiful fresh new growth and cheering things up. It is always a joy to see the emergent growth. One of my favourite peonies, a beautiful pure white double, ‘Le Cygne’ tends to come up very early and then gets battered by the weather. This year it was up early as usual and I can see at least one bud already and so far it is coping with the strong winds we have been having. Let’s hope it doesn’t get damaged now.
