As the days start to lengthen and spring stirs again in the garden it is impossible not to feel little anticipation for the year to come. The first early morning bird song to break the dawn, the flow of bright yellow daffodils that embraces the garden and lends the first sweet scents to the air; the lengthening evenings that tempt me to linger outside for just a little while longer -all are the familiar markers of spring and yet I greet them with renewed wonder each year.
An introduction to our spring garden
Let me show you the garden at Ednovean farm and some of the changes we have made this spring as we move a little longer along the season’s pathway.
Daffodils the yellow of the spring palette
Handling Daffodils or managing “the look” for a largely Mediterranean inspired sub tropical garden style is a little bit of a balancing act but they’ve made themselves at home planted in drifts beneath the Cordyline Australis that frame a sunken lawn before flowing out of sight into a wilder serpentine bank that flanks the Italian gardens.
By mid March the final blooms are in flower and the first tulips are starting to emerge safely raised from the ground in pots to avoid the Badgers.
Spring progress
Those bright yellow blooms that I was thrilled to see as early as Christmas day have gradually rippled across the lower gardens in an all-embracing display. I have been less restrained over the years when planted out expired pots of hyacinths from the house to live again in the garden and they not only live but thrive, lending a delicious scent to linger on the breeze near gateways.
And serendipity!
There is one exception a big broken pot that Charles used last year for Tomatoes still set in the centre in one of the lawned gardens of the Italian Garden. I mistakenly snatched net of beautiful shaded “Tulips” and dropped in my supermarket trolley only to discover, when I got home, that they were hyacinths and not Tulips. So I planted them in exile and promptly forgot about them along with the likely colour and type of all the other bulbs I had so enthusiastically planted ready for this spring – so each day has been full of new treats as I watched shoots emerging!
A tweak to the Italian Garden
At this time of year we can tweak things in the garden and Charles has long thought that the statue of David was in an obscure position. The question was could two sixty something move a heavy statue of David and base along a path and up a set of steps to a new centre stage position in the heart of the Italian Garden?
Well with a lot of will power and a little guile, yes!
We slowly levered and tumbled the weighty base and staggered along carrying the statue. The stone bench that previously occupied the mound has found a home on the gravel path below and is a perfect “G&T” bench for summer evenings. You know I think we’ve earned it but so far we’ve only managed a mug of tea there.
This February – what a total contrast to last year’s freeze!
What a contrast this February has been to last year when our golden days turned to Ice and snow – I bought a pair of insulated heavy-duty gardening gloves ready to set to work and tempted one of the warmest February on record – mind you I did enjoy this February in our garden!
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