Hoorah for colour!

Actually, some of my shots yesterday were not that bad, though I suppose a shot of colour is easy prey.  It is the more subtle subjects I have difficulty with and masses of intense colour and white flowers are tricky in bright conditions.  But, as the song goes: ‘You can only get betta.....’  I must try harder.

Anyway, I love colour.  I grow pastel shades of blue, pink and lilac but my heart goes thump for the hot colours.  Give me reds, oranges and garish yellows any day.  Life is grey most of the time and life is too short to be understated.  I love it the most when the hot colours clash really badly.  (I can almost hear the Chelsea Flower Show set shouting at me!)

I always grow tulips in pots because they don’t last long in the ground here at Springfield.  The other advantages are that I can layer them up in a pot easily which produces a bold display and I can position the containers where they get noticed the most.  These are placed just by the composting area which I visit every day with kitchen scraps and/or hen scoopings.

The daffodils are better than ever and we are at the mercy of the weather with these.  A dry winter stunts flower production and the hard winter the year before last really set them back.  However, they are recovered now and look amazing this spring.  There are plenty of blind bulbs but there are enough to make a decent ‘host of golden daffodils’ and I have picked some for the house too.  I am grateful to whoever planted them and they have been here for over forty years.  Bulbs are such good value and are true stars of the garden.  If you want value for money and ease of care, go for bulbs.

As for the Hellebores, well I think I like them.  The colours are a bit subdued for me and the fact their flowers face downwards is irritating but they are one of the first flowers to show themselves after the winter.  They earn their place here and our woodland setting suits them.  I transplanted some clumps successfully from a shady area to a semi-shaded area at the back of the new raised bed by the compost area.  It is easier to see their detail here but I still have to bend down to get a really good look at them.  (Not as easy task with a troublesome hip joint.)

The snowdrops and crocuses have now died back now and the daffs and tulips are in full swing.  But the bluebells are already in the green and will be keen to show their faces soon.