Since the lockdown was announced by the Government on or around the 20^th March in order to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, much of my spare time has been taken up completing outstanding jobs in and around the house, garden and pond. Fortunately, with having two dogs I was able to get out of the house every morning for some ‘personal exercise’ and fresh air whilst walking them both. The garden has been a lovely place of solitude and sanctuary, I can quite easily spend three to four hours a day pottering about, tidying up fallen plants, weeding, cutting and tending to the lawn etc. In January, February the garden borders were full of Snowdrops and Crocus, Daffodils and latterly Tulips, coming into April the Daffodils and Tulips had died back and were replaced with the emergence of Bluebells, this year we had several White one’s amongst them which was nice to see. The Hellebores have flowered nicely under the conifers, their drooping bell-shaped flower heads a lovely shade of crimson and lilac. The Primula Denticulata’s were beautiful too with their purple drumstick flower heads bobbing about in the early Spring breeze. The Amelanchier tree has been beautiful this Spring, it has three different stages of beauty, initially after the winter months the tree is bare, the leaves start sprouting in late January and  February, during April the tree is covered in little white florets, during the Autumn months the florets are replaced with  tiny purple berries which the birds love, unfortunately as a consequence I seem to be constantly washing off purple coloured bird poo from my cars bodywork. Later that month the leaves turn a beautiful red colour and last till the first frosts of the winter. 

During April the Magnolia bushes around the garden were in full flower, the huge white flowers lasted between one to two weeks, dependant on the weather, this year they were demolished by storm force winds and rain!  Our Acer trees were a picture in April, the tiny finger shaped leaves were a beautiful red colour and look quite stunning in the morning sunlight.

With the onset of May, the days are getting longer and warmer, the grass has started to grow and as of the end of May I seem to be cutting the lawn between once sometimes twice a week, depending on the weather.  I was able to scarify the lawn twice earlier this year which has made a difference to the quality of the grass, though having two dogs (bitches) it is a constant battle patching up the dead areas!

The warmer weather and longer days, coupled with a beautiful week of sunshine during the Spring Bank Holiday week has certainly brought the Spring flowering plants on, the Honeysuckle has been beautiful this year, the scent it has given off has filled the air. Clematis and Azaleas have all flowered nicely, as have the Foxglove, Lupins and Peonies. A couple of years ago we purchased and Jenny planted several hundred Alliums around the garden and this year May and June they have been an absolute picture, their tall beautiful purple flower heads some the size of tennis balls swaying gently in the breeze, I have had to stake many of them as we are prone to some strong westerly winds and if you are not careful will flatten the lot. I was pleased to see our two  Blue Himalayan Poppies survived the mild winter and flowered nicely during May, needless to say the heavy rain we had during the first few days of June brought their flowering period to an abrupt end. All in all it has been a beautiful Spring in the garden. Let’s hope our Summer will be just as colourful.