Spring has sprung.

I love this time of year. The days are getting longer, the birds are singing more, and the garden is wakening from its winter slumber.

I know that some people have fantastic winter gardens, but just looking outside the window now, the snowdrops and crocus have long since finished and the dogwoods have recently been cut back to about a foot high. That said the back border has looked fantastic in recent weeks. The hellebores have had masses of flowers and the primulas have been like large poses which stand out like beacons when the light is fading on an evening. There are clumps of narcissi flowing in the bottom border, which are under planted with blue anemones. When the sun shines the whole border is brought to life.

The garden is changing from one week to the next and on that rare occasion when the sun is shining, I love to spend five minutes in the garden before work, listening to the birds singing and to see what else has changed. Where the soil has lain empty for weeks, perennials and bulbs are now starting to grow and the ground is slowly becoming a carpet of green. There is promise of what is to come in the next few months.

A favourite shrub of mine is the camellia and I wouldn’t have a garden without one.  Despite them only flowering for a few weeks a year they have, in my opinion, flowers that make up for it. We have two that stand almost side by side down by the house, they both bear white flowers and they are currently covered in buds. They won’t flower for a few more weeks yet and I am hoping the weather stays mild and they put on a good show.

Deciduous trees and shrubs are also awakening with fresh buds waiting to burst and the cherry tree that stands in the corner of our garden is covered. I can hardly wait for it to flower and be buzzing with bees like last year.