These are just some of my favourite flowers that provide spring interest.
So much is bursting into flower after the cold spell and some thing are a little late
Malus blossom (Crab Apple Tree)
A
lot of the cherry trees and Amalanchia 's blossom are just opening and
the Malus are not yet out, this time last year they were.
Dicentra formosa 'Alba'
All the dicentra's including the classic bleading heart Spectabils are just fantastic. Such incredible show stoppers. I do love these little formosa s though they are more closely related to the wild plants. They are lovely with ferns and hostas, Polemonium (Jacobs Ladder) primula, bluebells, Aquligia and the usual woody shady mix.
This Erysimum linifolium 'Bowles' Mauve' below has its well deserved Award of Garden Merit from the RHS. It grows and flowers so well in the alkaline soils around Buckingham. Its highly recommended by us for producing such a lots of flower and not just in the summer months. I don't think it has stopped in my garden. Its not surprising that lots more varieties of Erysimum are arriving.
Pieris 'Silver Flame'
Pieris is a hardy plant with not only excellent fiery juvenile foliage its also evergreen and has very pretty flowers. Four good reasons to choose it for your garden. Here I grow it in a pot because it doesn't like the Rhododendron it doesn't like lime and my soil is exceptionally alkaline. It is n excellent choice for containers.
Pulsatila (The pasque flower)
Pulsatila is such a a sweet little alpine. It must have a well drained position but it is hardy. Its so photogenic, I love the fluffy seed heads after its flowered.
English Blue Bells
The blue bells are almost out in my garden, its like waiting for a theatre performance to start.
Viburnum tinus
We have to celebrate the viburnum tinus and all the new varieties with slight variations. Those like 'Spirit','French White', 'Eve Price' and 'Gwennllian' All are lovely and bring us long lasting early flowers and a strong lush green shrub.
Quick note: If your are unlucky enough to get a touch of viburnum beetle. Get some air into the plant. I cut my bush into a lolly pop which is idea because the little pest require
the dark undergrowth beneath the plant to thrive. Cut off the messy leaves and take as much as you can from underneath. Thin out the foliage a least to allow some air flow through the bush. Mine has recovered really well.
Viburnum BurkwoodiThe viburnum family is quiet large and provides us with some lovely big shrubs, some evergreen, some spring and some with all round interest and some like the image with blousey fragrant blooms. I am a big fan of the evergreen Viburnum Burkwoodii for its lovely Autumn colour as well as its sweet scented blossom out now.
The list could go on infinitely. Magnolias are in flower the ribes (flowering current) are gorgeous the cistus praecox and forysytha are all coming out but I shall finish with chaeomeles or flowering quince. Its out in its full glory now. Some varieties are japonica which mean comes from Japan it is not the actual name of the plant as we are frequently asked for a japonica. Quiet often customers do mean Chaeomeles or Skimma.
Chaeomeles
This plant is often seen grown as a self sporting wall shrub where it does very well. It come in different colours including pinks and whites. The red is striking ('Crimson and Gold') It also produces the ornamental pear in the Autumn which you can eat after a lot of cooking as it rather hard. They can be grown as a in a border or against a wall. Sun or partial shade. They flower on old wood so never prune them in early spring or you will cut the flowers off but you will want to prune them because they make long branches, so prune after they have flowered. If you train the branches out of you wall shrub you will get more flowers as you do with most shrubs and fruit.
