Friday 15th April
Well, we have snow forecast and below zero night time temperatures! I have been out wrapping up my garden – well some of it anyway. Last year the same thing happened and my lovely Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’ got severely knocked back. Not this year – I am ready!!! I hope a thin layer of fleece is sufficient – it should be as the temperature is only just below zero.
The garden is being very slow to get going. . .
Still lots of brown showing!
But then so are the weeds. . .
A cluster of weeds just starting to grow
Still, even though the garden is slow, I am VERY HAPPY!!
My little plum tree does indeed have blossom this year! Quite a lot! It is not quite open yet, but it is really there. Mmm – I can taste those plums already.
Plum tree blossom.
The lilac tree also has blossom, but it doesn’t really show yet. I wonder if the timing will be as good as the year before last when it flowered the same time as the purple rhododendron. They complemented each other beautifully.
One thing I am not happy about, is that something is eating my flowers, both my daffodils and my tulips. I don’t know if it is snails or pigeons. I am on the look out.
There is plenty of colour in the garden, especially in the rockery. The primulas and primroses look lovely together.
Yellow primroses and purple Primula wanda go well together
I also have some purple Primula denticulata which are exactly the same colour as the Primula wanda. However round the drive side of the house the Primula denticulata are pale purple and white.
Primula denticulata
In the rockery the Pulsatilla is coming into flower for the first time. I love it when a plant likes its conditions and basically doesn’t die!
And round the north side of the house I am really enjoying the lovely blue of the Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ – a gift from Angie of Edinburgh Garden Diaries
Also on the north side the self-seeded (from someone else’s garden) hellebore is growing on me as well as growing itself. The flowers have lasted for ages this year.
Meanwhile the tulips are starting. One of the first to open is new for me. I am getting very fond of yellow tulips.
Tulip praestans Shogun
Here is some other colour from around the garden.
Please click on the gallery to view the photos at their best.
Saturday 16th April
We woke up this morning to a covering of white in the garden. I am glad now that I took care of my plants yesterday. It is a lovely bright sunny day though, so it has almost gone already. Our garden centre has a sale on today so I am off for some more ferns. . . . .
Why not pop over to May Dreams Gardens to see what other gardens are doing this month – you have over 60 gardens to choose from.
My Aberdeen Garden 
Oh this weather! Its cold and wet down here too, with hail and lots of rain, your garden looks as if its just ready to go Annette, and despite the weather you do have some really beautiful blooms. I love the photograph of Tulip praestans Shogun, its gorgeous. I have been watching wood pigeons pick off the blossom on our Chanticleer Pears, what on earth for I do not know as they just chuck the flowers on the ground. I charge out and clap my hands at them, maybe one day they will get the message….
I have seem sparrows doing the same to cherry blossom in Japan, Julie. I think they must get the nectar from the base of the flower. I can’t think of any other reason they do it. I used to do the same thing to honeysuckle flowers when I was a child!
Hope the weather soon settles and saves you the trouble of wrapping and protecting. Your garden is looking wonderful Annette. I didn’t realize there was a form of primrose such as your Primula denticulata–quite lovely. Didn’t think anything ate daffodils, that’s a surprise. Beautiful photographs. Enjoy the weekend.
Thank you. I have just realised I haven’t been getting your posts recently. I must have a catch up. Primula denticulata is a very good garden plant as it flowers early, the slugs don’t seem to eat it and it divides itself wonderfully, ready for splitting every few years. What more could you ask for?
you have a lot in bloom Annette, how wise to protect plants from the cold, glad the snow isn’t hanging around, the ariel view of your garden shows a lot of different textured foliage giving variety, Frances
Thanks Frances. I will keep the covers on for tonight also as below zero temperatures forecast. Let’s hope it is warmer after that as I have a few plants to get in.
That’s terrible weather! But beautiful pictures.
I bet it is times like these that you are glad that you left! Still better weather has to be on the way.
Well we are headed for winter- but it’s not the same!
The view of your garden from above shows how ready you are for the coming gardening year, it is all so neat and tidy! How annoying that something is eating your daffodils, I hope you find out soon what it is.
I really think it is the wood pigeons though I have yet to catch them. They are being a real nuisance and eating all the food I put on the ground for the blackbirds. I didn’t mind just a couple but they seem to be bringing all their friends these days.
Hope you don’t get too cold! We had snow forecast last night though didn’t get any – though there was some up in the Pennines nearby.
Gorgeous primulas – I must get some of those denticulatas!
Hi Dave, thanks for visiting. I had a pop over to your site too, but couldn’t find a ‘follow’ button. Hopefully I have done it manually as your garden looks amazing.
I do wish it would warm up a bit. Perhaps this weekend will see the last of the cold nights. We can but hope! Good luck with the plums.
I do hope so! I guess we can’t ever be sure until mid to end of May though – not here anyway, but you should be earlier.
Oh this weather! 20 degrees on thursday here and 9 today with torrential rain. It feels much colder. But still, you are enjoying lovely April blooms. I love Primula denticulata, it was one of the first plant names I learnt as a child and I was delighted with the sound of it and the flower which looked to me like a floral lollipop.
Oh dear – I think the whole country is suffering, but it has to get better soon. Primula denticulata is a lovely plant isn’t it. I only came across it quite late when a neighbour gave me some spares. I have since added a couple more colours, but still have the originals.
Oh how interesting to have an aerial shot of the garden, Annette – and oh those pesky whatever-they-are! I suspect pigeons…
I have printed off a google earth plan, Cathy and still have intentions to do a proper garden map like yours.
Look forward to seeing it
Some wonderful Spring colour Annette. I have seen allium heads snapped off which I thought was the work of birds, I think the daffodil damage could be due to earwigs, similar to what they do to dahlias.
Oh I hadn’t considered earwigs – do they eat at night, or day? I don’t see many of them generally.
I think at night, my grandfather use to invert flower pots ful of newspaper on his dahlia stakes to capture them and then feed them to his chickens!
Thanks for the tip – I will give it a try.
No chickens though – they will have to get the welly boot treatment, the same as my snails.