And it's the end of April already

We havn't had a chance to blog for ages.  Here's why.  We went to Crete en famille for a week to see the flowers but had an extra two days due to the volcano, then three more days to get home over sea and land via Athens, Patras, Ancona and Bologna where we were very lucky to get a flight to Gatwick.

The plants around Chania were fab then we moved to Enagron near Ancos in the Psiloritis mountains and found lots more amazing and delightful plants.  The weather got better and better and it got quite hot at midday, even in the mountains.

One of the most spectacular plants was Petromarula pinnata, ;eft, which is endemic (an endemic genus, no less) and to be found on cliffs and rocks all over the island.

Weather in Crete over the winter was unusually warm and many plants including orchids were over but we did find some nice ones.  We visited Mount Ida and found a neat little alpine on the calcareous cliffs.  But look at it more closely and you see it is woody and actually a dwarf tree.  It is Prunus prostrata, the Cretan wild cherry.

April at last

March went out like a lion, and it's still pretty cold, but the roses and viburnum are coming in to leaf at last. Plus, it's daffodil time! Plus, there are tulips sprouting in the borders from last year's display and the tulip bed by the shed is looking promising and the tulips Sue planted in a pot for us are elegantly budded up and we can't wait to see what they are.

Lots of plusses, then, plus a very very long list we made today of a few hundred things that need doing. Yesterday Edgar and Anastasija and I started filling in the area where the corrugated hut used to stand. After an hour, it was clear that I will have to find a lot of soil or compost from somewhere else to create a level garden patch in that north-sloping corner. Plus, there is the stump of that big beech tree to remove somehow.

Cherry on the drive

We have several cherries planted in the woods and one on the drive.  They are fastigiate with bronzy new growth and pale pink flowers with an amazing almond scent.  Noel Robertson, who became Dean of Science in Edinburgh U, gave me a handful of rooting cuttings when he came down here to see Nancy Carter who was one of his colleagues in Cambridge (or somewhere).  He said the variety was used as a rootstock.  Anyhoo, they have fat flower buds and these burst open a few days after bringing inside.  We must do this more often.

Struggling on

This February has continued the theme of the winter, with long spells of frozen ground, and occasional snow. Even the bergenia has been seen lying flat and apparently lifeless. However the wonderful hellebore from Ashworth nurseries is getting stronger every winter.

One or two days have been kinder. February always comes up with a pet day or two. We have been out on the drive cutting down overhanging branches and removing trees to give a bit more light and air to the roses. And to avoid complaints from the drivers of delivery lorries. It has taken some hardening of heart to cut down trees planted as babies 20 years ago.

A slow spring forward

Crocus tomassinianus used to be abundant in the north facing border around the lawn but the mice have been busy and now the only place they thrive is in the lawn itself.  They are gradually seeding themselves here and show the silver outer perianths in some seedlings; in others the perianths are a more unifrom fluorescent blue.  The general effect is very pleasing. 

The Christmas Box, Sarcococco confusa, by the back door has been blooming since Christmas.  It needs a good prune each year so we bring the pruning inside and wow, what a scent.  The scent is very similar to snowdrops en masse. The shiney black berries are still on the twigs from last year and are quite decorative.  You might like to know that it is really a kind of Box as it belongs to the Buxaceae.

I bought a small plant of the very early Rhododendron 'Emaculum' (syn x praecox) at the Plant Hunters' garden in Pitlochry.  I potted it on and it grew another flush of leaves.  I took it in at Christmas time and it is now flowering in the conservatory.  I will repot again after flowering and it will double in size for next year. 

Daffodil 'Tete a Tete' is blooming inside now and is very good value.  Small pots full of buds were on sale at a local nursery at a price cheaper than they could be bought as dry bulbs.  These will be planted out in the garden after flowering.

The tree tomato (Solanum betaceum) in the conservatory set a lot of fruit late last year that have ripened over the winter.  We are eating them now with our muesli.  They are an excellent resource and keep in good condition on the tree for several months.  I think some people find the flavour (mango-tomato-ish) a bit challenging.

Lengthening Days

Yes, everything is wakening up, including the gardeners who can now work on until five o'clock.  The snowdrops appeared just a couple of days after the snow went and have increased daily.  We have them scattered about the garden and lots and lots up the wood in great drifts.  We have two clones of snowdrop.  Both came from mother in Lesmahagow.  One is the common or garden Galanthus nivalis and the other, a taller one with broader leaves and darker green chevron on the inner perianth.  This, John Grimshaw says, is G. x valentinei but he does not rate this particular clone!  It does multiply well and is early.

We have them associated with the Arum italicum 'Pictum', now called A. i. 'Marmoratum', and the Setterwort, Helleborus foetidus which does well in the dry shade.

Hellebores are pushing up rapidly in the garden.  Our favourite is this picotee which we got at Ashworth Nurseries; it is particularly early and vigorous.

And of course the early clones of primroses have been out for some time now and don't seem to mind the bad weather.

Messing with catkins

There is not much new in the garden just now but as the thaw finishes we hope to start the roller-coaster.  The first lot of hazel catkins I brought in the house before Christmas did not flower - not enough accummulated cold perhaps - but the ones I brought in from Henfaes a couple of days ago are quite different.  On the tree they had developed well in spite of all the freezing weather.  There must have been enough sunshine to heat the catkin itself. 

Anyhoo, they were only in a vase in the back window for a couple of days for them to lengthen fully and open.  We had some fun tapping the twigs to watch the pollen swirl about and had partial success in photographing that event.  You can see the small female flowers with their tuft of stigmas too.