‘Every spring is the only spring, a perpetual astonishment.‘ Ellis Peters.
I am a day late with the Garden Blogger’s Bloom day because yesterday was not a day for blogging. It was a day of sparkling warm sunshine, and the garden was full of blossom and birds, bees and butterflies. It was a day to spend 8 hours gardening and then to crawl in and spend the evening zombie-fashion wondering if the lovely Pianist who had cooked a wonderful dinner, would mind feeding me, because raising the food to my mouth seemed to be too much effort. On reflection, I thought it better not to ask. As it is, he expressed dissatisfaction with a dinner companion whose conversational powers had descended to the odd grunt. So today, although a beautiful day I have promised to show a little restraint. Actually, my exhaustion was the fault of Pauline at Leadupthegardenpath blog . I read her latest post before I went out and it launched me on to a new project. I realised that the wooded area at the bottom of the garden should be a lovely woodland garden like the one she has. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? The Cow Parsley, nettles and brambles had to go. The trees needed shaping nicely. Compost needed to be dug in. I wish I was the sort of gardener who could dream round the garden in floaty dress and then sit on a garden bench, listening to the birdsong and writing poetry.
The ubiquitous Flowering Currant which is everyone’s garden at the moment, might be common but it is a welcome sight nevertheless and very useful for forcing to get early white flowers. I don’t know why the flowers do this magical trick when they are picked. I also have ‘White Icicles’ but the flowers are cream rather than white. I used to have one, with this name that had pure white flowers.
Ribes x gordonianum is quite special with coppery red and yellow flowers.
So there are a few flowers I am enjoying in the garden at the moment. I will leave the primroses and magnolias for another post.
I hope you are enjoying all your April blooms and I look forward to catching up with them later. Thank you to Carol at Maydreamgardens for hosting the meme.
Chloris
The Blooming Garden 
When I read Pauline’s posts about her wonderful woodland it makes me want a woodland sooooooooo much. I’m sure you can create one at the back of your garden. It is lovely to have a project, but you are also right that you should spend some time just sitting and enjoying it. Spring is so special.
I do love having a project and I will be quite sad when I can’ t find any room in the garden for any more new ideas. I’ m not much good at sitting looking, there is always so much to do.
I enjoyed looking at all your blooms today; some were new to me. I didn’t know that about flowering current – do you just pick it before it flowers and the flowers are white? I must try that.
Yes, you can pick it in bud in Winter and the flowers will open pure white. Cathy at Wordsandherbs blog picked some as the buds were opening and they were an attractive mix of pink and white.
That is amazing – I hope I remember to try it next year.
Very pretty collection of spring-bloomers, Chloris. (I nearly wrote ‘collection of bloomers’, but a different image came to mind, as I am probably older than you…)
I especially like the Erythronium. Is it a bulb?
I’ m glad you like my bloomers Cynthia. Yes Erythronium is a tooth shaped bulb and that is why it is sometimes called the Dog- toothed Violet. It is not actually a violet at all.
A super collection of bloom Chloris – Pauline’s garden is one to admire isn’t it? It’s difficult not to be inspired by it. Your Epimediums are miles ahead of mine, which seem to have ground to a halt.
I hope you are having a far more relaxing day today, although I suspect you are too much like myself and just can’t help yourself 🙂
I’ve thought about being that kind of gardener, minus the floaty dress, before. Having a gardener to do the tasks and I realized that for gardeners like you and me, the fun is in the doing even when we come in sore from a satisfying day in the garden. Great blooms all around and I’m especially enamored of your tropaeolum tricolor. I’m trying to find a source on this side of the pond! Beautiful.
I love the way you have the pictures in a collage! Such a variety of shapes and colors! I can’t seem to go out side without coming back in covered in dirt. My ex-husband (who is English) once bought me red wellies. He said it was so he could find me in the dirt : ) I do have help now with my garden. I borrow a member of the crew now and again to do the heavy lifting.
Your photos are all so lovely Chloris – what an abundance of blooms for April! I should also like a woodland garden, but I’d need a gardener to do all the digging and clearing for me! 😉
A woodland garden is the one addition I wish for, I often look enviously at the field over the hedge, sadly it is more likely to be built on. I look forward to seeing some pictures of yours as it develops.
I didn’t know that trick with the flowering currant – I’ve a couple of young shrubs in my garden, so I’ll have to remember that in a few months time. The blooms in your garden are just wonderful. I can see why you would rather be outside than posting. The Omphaldes (what a great name!) is splendid at the start of spring. I imagine it would look stunning under an amelanchier or other spring blossom tree!
Ellis Peters knew what of she spoke! Spring is pretty exciting in your garden. I look forward to getting a glimpse of that new woodland garden too when you’re ready to share it.
Oh I had to laugh as I have those days where I am so worn out from gardening that I can’t raise a fork to my mouth….a perfect collage and quote for GBBD.
I’ve had days like that in the past too, so tired and everything hurts. We have some warm weather in the forecast, so I’m hoping I’ll get out there soon to have a nice long day of it.
Wonderful photos! I have a great book called Gardening with Woodland Plants by Karan Junker, if you were closer you could borrow it. Worth a look 🙂
An impressive show. I love these selections of plants. I find myself thinking “Ah yes, got one of those. Oh don’t have that. Must have one of those!”
That’ s what blogging is all about, sharing ideas and plants. If you see anything you would like cuttings of you must tell me.
Perpetual astonishment is just it! Bravo to that collage of yours – how did you do it? As usual plenty of delightful plants in your garden, Liz, especially the pink Hepatica and Pulsatilla are to die for. How are you getting on with the new borders? I’ve almost removed all the lawn of my two new beds but what back-breaking work! Pauline’s woodland garden is my favourite too and I wish I had a suitable place to make one, but alas, can’t have it all… PS: Liz, can I ask you a favour: If you do respond, can youd do that directly to the comment otherwise it doesn’t show up in the dialogue upper right corner. Thanks, happy spring days 🙂
WordPress did the collage for me. I just put the photos in the gallery and mosaic is one of the options.
I have finished my beds and planted them and I have to say I am thrilled with them. They started off as Winter beds but now they are Winter and Spring beds. Digging up lawn is backbreaking, I dug up two lawns in my front garden but this time, I cheated and hired some help.
I hope you are enjoying this wonderful Spring.
thanks for telling me – borders ready now and awaiting the plants, I’m so excited! yes, I’m enjoying my garden, spring…and life 🙂
How can you get any work done with these little treasures all calling out to look at them? So beautiful.
I spend just as much time enjoying the plants as I do gardening . Spring flowers are such a delight.
A most enjoyable post and a wonderful selection of pictures, both of which reaffirm just how delightful spring is in the garden. xx
Thank you Flighty. This Spring is particularly wonderful. We just need it to slow down a bit.
What a wonderful collage – and how did you get that long scroll of pictures? (I suspect it must be be something quite easy as you sometimes suggest your computer skills are a little lacking – but forgive me if I am wrong!!). I was so please to have someone else saying they don’t sit down in the garden as I always get roundly chastised for not doing so… 😉 Re the woodland – interestingly, my woodland came about after I visited a small local Open Garden with a strip of woodland which left me thinking ‘I wish I had a woodland….’ and then I realised I did have a small area where trees could be planted and a woodland created. That was in 2000 – and it has been gorgeous for a few years now, perhaps an encouragement to others think creatively and do the same….? Look forward to seeing yours establish
Good old WordPress, it does it all for you. I just arranged the pictures in a mosaic .
I had so much garden to get in order that I ignored the far end but now I have great plans for it. Julie ( from Peonies and Posies) and I went to Beth Chatto today and admired her woodland garden. We egged each other on to fill our trollies up with ever more plants. Such extravagance, but there were so many treasures we just had to have.
I will now have second thoughts about going garden visiting with you, temptress that you are 🙂
Eight hours eh? Wow…..no wonder you were reduced to the occasional grunt! I love your blooms, especially all the blues and violets…..heavenly. Good luck with the woodland garden….no overdoing it now! `I would love to develop a woodland garden under the six hugs beech trees but cant even get a fork in the ground due to the gnarled roots.xxx
Beech trees are very shallow rooted aren’ t they? But bluebells grow under them in the wild. Perhaps if you piled plenty of mulch on top you could plant some woodlanders.
I had to laugh at your image of a gardener dreaming around the garden in a floaty dress. Of course, in my imagination, she wouldn’t be writing poetry, she would be capturing the scene in her sketchbook! I don’t know any real life gardeners who meet these descriptions! I confess your photographs often incite plant lust in me.
I would love to be able to sketch and paint. I envy you your wonderful gift.
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Sorry to have been the cause of so much work for you! I know the feeling only too well from when I was sorting the garden here. I’m sure your new garden will be superb, like the rest of your garden and I look forward to seeing photos of it in due course!
It is such fun having a project on the go. It is fun doing it but also such fun to plan.
Oh no wonder you wanted to get your teeth into your new project. It’s great to have a whole day to play in the garden especially if you do not have to watch the clock and come in to do mundane tasks like cook.
We have had such wonderful weather lately, I never want to come inside. I know I am very lucky to have my own chef.
a wonderful array of blooms. I love the way that when you hover over the image you get the plant name – very clever. Please don’t get rid of the cow parsley – I adore it!
Not clever really, I just wrote the names in and WordPress did the rest. I love cow parsley too but I have got rather a lot of it. I want to make room for more exciting plants.
Really nice and so colorful. Great variety of flowers !
That’s what spring is all about isn’t it. Beautiful gardening weather and just plain old good weather to sit out in the garden and fascinate over every new bloom and sprout. I admire your industry, I spend far more time on the enjoying part while the weeds move in and the good plants go hungry for compost. Many gardeners say they don’t have the time to use their own benches and garden seats, but I make good use of mine! I love this time of year.