We have lift off

Alright, things are really starting to take off in the home garden. This post is full of photos of plants in their early stages of growth.

Strap in!

Early flowers

Already, there are one or two flowers in the herbaceous “section” of the garden. Check them out:

The Bleeding Heart, formerly know as Dicentra spectabilis has been re-named to Lamprocapnos spectabilis. Normally one of the first herbaceous plants to flower. It reminds me of my home up north as my mam planted both a pink and white form in our garden.
The Spring Vetchling (Lathyrus vernus), is a reliable, low growing, flowerer for the spring garden. I first saw this growing on the north facing rock garden at RHS Wisley when I worked on the alpine team. It does well in part shade.
Euphorbia characias flowers straight off the previous year's growth. No wonder it can produce such a spectacle so early in the year.
The Snake's Head Fritillary is definitely one of the coolest flowers going. It's markings... wow!
The Red Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) is flowering in our meadow. An excellent early source of nectar for pollinating insects. Its pollen is red. How cool.

You’ve seen some of the things that are flowering right now, but let’s have a look at what’s still to come.

What follows are plants harnessing the sun’s energy now, so they can put it into something special in the weeks and months to come.

Building up to something special

Is there any time of the year that Hydrangea quercifolia doesn’t look amazing?

The new year's growth of Hydrangea quercifolia 'Ruby Slippers' growing right on top of last year's colourful leaves.
A bit of everything. The mini "towers" of the Late Ox Eye Daisy (Leucanthemella serotina). The fresh tuft of Calamintha nepeta (left). A young stem of Hylotelephium 'Oriental Dancer'.
One of my favourite plants, Whorled Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata) just pushing through the earth. It spreads well but not aggressively.
One of our absolute favourites. The Katsura Tree's leaves smell like burnt sugar when they fall in autumn, or are hit by frost in spring. This is a dwarf form, more suitable for small gardens called Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Boyd's Dwarf'.
Don't pull this out by mistake, it's not an Aquilegia! It's a Thalictrum rochebruneanum. I have another one called Thalictrum aquilegiifolium which as you may be able to guess by its name, looks even more like an Aquilegia. Wait until they flower though, then you'll see how different they are.
The Red Feather Clover (Trifolium rubens) is a cool plant. I'm hoping to propagate this one and use it as ground cover throughout the garden.
Less well known than Phlox paniculata, Phlox divaricata 'White Perfume' is a low growng, semi-evergreen plant with beautiful white, fragrant flowers in early summer.
This Wild Marjoram grows in to good sized clumps quickly. Perfect for dividing, it has a long flowering season with a fantastic layer of edible pink flowers above its more well known edible foliage. It's a native herb that can be found growing wild in our area.
The young, dark foliage of Echinacea pallida. A tougher and more elegant species than the more common Echinacea purpurea. Both are lovely though.
The young growth of Symphyotrichum novi-belgii 'Dandy'. Formerly classed as Aster, this is a dwarf form which barely reaches more than 30cm in a good year.
Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' seems to have a little clump of hardy leaves that overwinter above ground. When the day length and temperatures grow, so will the Helenium!
The grasses are getting started too. This is Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea 'Transparent'. A tall grass that is both cylindrical and elegant. I didn't know that was possible..
After an impressive display of flowers in February, this Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise' is getting ready to start again.
The Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Blue Balloon' which has been in bud all winter is now starting to grow. Very excited for this beauty.
This will be the first time this Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac) has flowered since I cut it down to the ground two and a half years ago. Exciting!

Despite not having had rain for over a month, things are moving quickly. 

With a good amount of rain forecast for this week, I imagine I’ll be posting again very soon!

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