Despite flurries of snow, an icy north wind and temperatures just above freezing, there have been bursts of spring sunshine today and the flowers are reaching up to the ever-changing sky. You can see it was actually snowing and sunny at the same time in this photo! (And can you see the Forsythia flowering in the distance? More on that later this week…)
I chose a sunny interval to go out and pick some spring flowers for a vase so that I can join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme. The primulas and hellebores are in full flower in the Butterfly Bed…
And there is another ‘flurry’ of spring flowers and a lovely pale Cowslip in the Moon Bed…
I have a few Narcissi and Pulmonarias open now too. And some blue Chionodoxa, Scilla, Puschkinia and Grape Hyacinths. So I ended up picking a bit of everything.
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Some warm days last week brought on many plants and bulbs, including the new Foxtail Lilies I planted last autumn. (How exciting to see their shoots breaking through the damp soil!) And the garden is beginning to look green again at last. 😃
Is your garden coming to life yet? And have you also spotted a favourite plant peeking out the ground that made you smile (or even squeal or skip and jump!) ? 😉 Do share!
Have a great week. And Happy Gardening!
Words and Herbs 
I really must add more of these little bulbs next year – they add such a ‘pop’ of colour, don’t they? Your combination works so well in your bottle stand too. I have certainly done a bit of squealing here and no doubt the occasional skip too! Strangely no sign of any cowslips here yet, and I need to go and take a closer look as they had been self-seeding in the streamside grass
I love all the little blue flowers and add a few more each year. Anemones too. Do you grow Anemone blanda? The primulas have self-seeded here, but not the cowslips… maybe next year?
I have a few A blanda, but could do with more and the odd scilla too – but widely dispersed after border rejuvenation!
Every stem you cut is a treasure, Cathy. I particularly love the combination of the hellebores and the Narcissus. A few hellebores have finally showed up in my garden but, given their scarcity this year, they may not show in any of my IAVOM posts. The mix of snowfall and sunshine is a delight. Yet another atmospheric river is expected here this week but spring is progressing at pace nonetheless.
Well, we had such a warm spell last week (up to 18°C!), we can’t really complain about this cold spell. Just hope it doesn’t last too long!
I’m hoping that the Tulips put on a good show again this year.
Yes, tulip season is getting closer! 🌷🌷🌷
It sounds like your plants are right around the same stage as mine here. If I remember correctly, you are usually ahead of me. We had such a warm February that everything came up early and now March has been colder than February. I always end up getting mad and frustrated when the months get confused as to what they should be doing. But what can you do but ride it out and wait for the warm days to have their way at last.
Your little vases are lovely, so full of color and brightness. When you cut your hellebores, how long do they last in a vase? The blooms last for several months outside that I hate to shorten their life by bringing them in.
How lovely to hear from you Cindy! 🤗 You are right, we have had such a grey and chilly winter, albeit with hardly any snow to speak of, so my garden is only just getting going. My hellebores vary immensely and I think it depends on the sort or on the time picked – if they are already going over they tend to last a lot longer in a vase. Otherwise it is pure luck – a day or two, or even a week! I do have some well established ones now, so a few stalks now and then can be spared, especially when it is too cold to go outside to enjoy them! Hope you are well and enjoying your spring garden!
Mother Nature is playing with those early blooms!
We have had a few years in a row with very mild spells in February, but this year it has been slower to warm up. We are pretty much on schedule for a ‘normal’ year, so let’s see what happens! 😉
I enjoy seeing spring wonders and the tube style vase is a great display. I could not resist Chinodoxa when living further north or any little blue flowers really. I love cowslips, aren’t they sort of a wildflower? I have been squealing over the blue salvias here.
I would squeal over blue salvias too! 😉 Cowslips are wild, although you don’t see many around here. This pale one is possibly a hybrid from a garden centre or a cross from my original deep yellow wild cowslip and the primulas or polyanthus… I sometimes even get orange and pink-tinged cowslips! 😃
So cheering to see your flowers of spring, Cathy! We still have lots of snow, but today in a bare patch of lawn I saw my first snow crocus and shoots of narcissi. Snowdrops are blooming here and there, too. Soon, soon!
Oh, that must be so welcome Eliza! Hope it warms up quickly now!
Is pale cowslip comparable to a wild species, or is it a cultivar that is more comparable to primrose?
I am not sure if this is a hybrid as I did buy some Primula vulgaris from a garden centre at some stage. It could also be a cross, since the primroses and cowslips get cross-pollinated sometimes. I have had orange and pink ones in the past!
That is cool! It does not naturalize here. I do not like it much as a uniform ‘bedding’ plant, but find it more appealing in mixed with other annuals and perennials. So-called ‘landscapers’ can make it look quite cheap by mixing all the colors but not the species, as a mixed color bed of primrose. One or even two colors might look good, but too many look like clown colors.
We’ve had so much rain that I never know what I’ll find when I walk about my garden. Some things have flourished while others lag behind. It feels like I’m on a treasure hunt while waiting for spring to make a full appearance. Your bouquets are sunshine, Cathy!
Thank you Debra! Hope you find treasure in your garden this week. Your damp spell must surely come to an end soon and then everything will be shooting up all over the place. It is getting greener by the day here!
Thank you for sharing those long views of the garden and the details of some of your beds. It is still very cold your end, and how nice to bring flowers, samples from most to enjoy in your home.
Hi Noelle. Yes, a mild spell last week brought everything on, but now it has turned cold again and we are having April showers and March wind together!
The little vases are so sweet and can be spread around the house. I also like the long view of your garden.
That is the advantage of the small spring flowers… they can be distributed around the house in small vases. 😃
Love your display method, Cathy. The scarcity of blooms in your climate must make you enjoy each one even more 🙂
Absolutely. Each one is precious!