Spring

Today was the first day of spring in the garden (happily coenciding with the official date). It's the first day this year when I could leave the greenhouse open for the afternoon without the thermostat starting the heating and work outside without a coat.

The snowdrops have been showing their heads for a while, but as soon as the weather turned milder they have been flowering their socks off.

Galanthus nivalis

When we moved to the house there were a few large clumps of snowdrops in the garden. Over the years I split them and moved them around the garden, and I now have quite a few sizable clumps. There is nothing like a good cover of snowdrops on the first day of spring.



Most of the Hellebores are also starting to raise their heads, and today I cut off the foilage so the flowers can be admired (most leaves become quite tatty over winter and are best removed to leave room for fresh foilage). In milder years they flowered much earlier.

Despite the cold weather, a few growing in a sheltered spot by the patio are already full bloom.

Helleborus ‘Silver Moon’