It’s that time of year where the days are now noticeably longer and the sunshine is beaming, trying to lure you outside into the garden despite still loitering in the single-digit temperatures.

When it is warm though, it’s worth it, as the bulbs that I planted back in 2017 and 2018, are busily blooming and filling the garden with reds, purples, yellows, oranges, and creams. The waxy green leaves have parted to allow the flowers to reach to the sky and uncurl.

Not many bees so far, but they’ll find ample to pick from should they come into my garden looking for pollen.

Bleeding Hearts

The Dicentra Spectabilis ‘Bleeding Heart’ that I rescued last year from the almost-dead discount section of my local Wyevale (now a Dobbies) is now on flower. The delicate rows of heart-shaped pinky red flowers are looking beautiful on the side of the patio. It tolerates the shadier side of the garden and looks great from my window. It’s a herbaceous perennial, so it dies back to nothing and then emerges in early Spring.

Wallflowers, finally

Last year I bought a bundle of Wallflowers from a market stall. A nice green wall of foliage and flowers was what I was hoping for, but last year they struggled with the heat and mostly achieved nothing.

They’ve over-Wintered and this year they’ve finally begun to give back to me with a mixture of golden yellow or deep red flowers.

Coming soon is a bit of a desperate need to continue pricking out and potting on a range of plants before they start to suffer, but I’m going to need to buy some more square pots.

As ever, thank you for reading, and happy gardening.

Andrew