Spring is Sprung – Finally

Spring is a busy time for gardeners, with seeds to be sown, digging and planting to be done, and the first weeds making an appearance. Green manures may not be the first things that you think of to sow, but there are many green manures that are ideal for spring sowing and bring many benefits to your garden.

Cornish hedges are an exuberant delight. I visited in April a few years back, and every lane was awash with alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum). This year, in May, they put on a stunning display that would put a Chelsea show garden to shame.

The fashion world used to work so far in advance that if you wanted a new swimming costume for your summer holiday, you would have to buy it in the spring. By August, swimming costumes were nowhere to be seen, and it was time to buy your winter coat. Things have changed with the rise in long-haul holidays; it’s always summer somewhere in the world, and you can buy clothes of all types year-round.

Two things came together to prompt this post on edible spring flowers. The first was that we invited Ryan’s parents round for dinner on Mothering Sunday, and I pondered buying some spring flowers for a table decoration that I could later plant out in the garden as additions to my edible flower collection.

We’re not quite done with April showers – it’s raining. Spring is a bit behind schedule this year, but it is May and there are spring flowers!

We may not be free of frosts yet, but it seems as though spring has come at last! The trees are leafing up, buds are bursting all over the place, and the grass and the weeds are growing. Some of the blossom has been and gone already, in a hurry to catch up and get on with things.

Header image: Rob Ferl, left, and Anna-Lisa Paul looking at the plates filled part with lunar soil and part with control soils, now under LED growing lights. At the time, the scientists did not know if the seeds would even germinate in lunar soil. Credits: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

How to Naturalize Spring Flower Bulbs in the Landscape

Ready for spring 2024? Our new autumn range is here, ready to help you grow the spring garden of your dreams. But what will you grow? Garden trends change every year, and we love to stay up to date! Here are just a few garden trends we expect to see in spring next year.  Colour Coordinated  Purples with pinks, yellows with oranges, whites with green.

Abeliophyllum distichum also called White Forsythia is more refined than traditional yellow Forsythia to which it is distantly related, both being part of the Olive family.

These photos are from Magdalen College Oxford University.

Greens are vibrant in your garden during spring and with careful plant selection good foliage can be grown throughout the seasons.