The sun shone, warm and inviting today… I managed to get my Lily of the Valley planted, it had begun growing in the bag, so I’m relieved to finally have it in the ground.
The stars of the show today were definitely the Iris…
The stars of the show today were definitely the Iris…
If it stays sunny, I expect to see a number of the Crocus joining the Iris
Actually, even with all the snow the Iris/Crocus are pretty much on queue with last year, a few days later. I’ve already mentioned the snowdrops however were over a month earlier.
Chrysalis is still with us, I’m surprised Wren/Robin/Bluetit haven’t yet found it. It’s not exactly hidden.
I apologise, I’m having far too much fun with the Skimmia flowers.
We popped to B&Q to pick up some viola’s to perk up the garden a little, the snow has pretty much killed any plants which would normally still be hanging in there such as my Cyclamen…
As it turns out they were selling off trays of 30 plugs for £1.50, so naturally two trays made their way home with me.
I also picked up some muscari ‘in the green’ as I’ve never bothered with them before… Oh and some Fritileria… I look forward to their bells in a few weeks or so.
Viola’s with their cheerful faces… Never much of a fan of Orange, but at least it is colourful!
The snowdrops also enjoyed the sun and opened up to tempt any early Bees… Speaking of early risers, on the Fritileria I bought there was a Ladybird!!!
Now, how about this for an abstract shot…
Not only did I see a Ladybird, but I've also had my first Hoverfly of the year!
Now, if ever you were in doubt getting a sweetbox, here's one excellent reason:
However, I think this may either be a second Hoverfly, or else the first one managed to get something blue on its wings…
It actually looks to be liquid…
Poor thing looked somewhat dazed... I'm wondering whether it had been in the Chive bag - my brother bought a chive plant, you know the type you get in supermarkets for in the kitchen? Well anyway, the pot is inside a bag, and I eventually put it outside after getting thoroughly annoyed with it in the kitchen... But yes, the bag has blue on it and as it happens yesterday I moved the chive bag with pot and wonder if the movement and warm weather has brought the Hoverfly out of dormancy? Do they even survive the winter???
20 comments:
Love all the purply blues in your spring garden - also it's nice to know other people get those 'abtract' shots!
Oh what a stunning iris! I once planted over a 100 iris in my front garden at our first house. The gophers took the lot...not a single plant survived. I was crushed, and haven't had the courage to try planting them again. I'll be content to live vicariously through your iris for now. Absolutely beautiful.
Beautiful shots. You really have done justice to these beautiful elements of nature in micro. In fact, those views are exactly as seen by the insects. They play, touch and hug the flowers and the beauty as well.... We just view them from far... ~bangchik
Liz its amazing how far on growth is in your garden. I am weeks behind you with snowdrops only coming out now. I've seen not a single bee in the garden never mind a hoover fly. I can't wait for my little iris to flower - there's no sign of them even as green shoots yet but I did see a few crocus in flower from the kitchen window this evening.
I wonder how long you had to wait till you got a bee on your sweetbox - lots of patience I am sure.
Liz, I love the iris and snowdrop shots! I am glad you had a lovely sunny day. It does lift the spirits, and how wonderful to see the garden wakening!
Liz these pics are gorgeous - makes you want to go out to the garden right now - shame it's dark :-) It's been a beautiful day here today and have been out working for a whole day - feeling rather achey too! Hope you have a good week and that the weather is a bit kinder! Miranda x
I thought I wasn't a fan of orange violas either, until I planted some in the fall. They were very happy looking, and I was happy I planted them! Great pics!
Now that iris is a beauty Liz. I saw my first ladybird of the year too on Monday - it was sunbathing:)
I am happy that spring has arrived for you, now can you please send her my way.! Still a ton of snow here so I will probably not see snowdrops for a couple of weeks yet.
Hi Cyndy,
Thank you, to be honest most of my flowers are all blues and purples... ;)
Hi CV,
Oh dear, sorry to hear about all your Iris!! I would be furious if that happened to me... I get annoyed enough at the Fox and Squirrels digging my garden up, but at least they don't do too much damage.
Try planting some pots of them? All my Irises are in pots because I hear Slugs/Snails love them...
The Crocus, Bluebells and such are planted in the ground though...
Hi Bangchik,
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed looking at the photos :D
I do like to play with Macro... ha ha, slight understatement but indeed, looking so closely at everything amazes me!
Hi Rosie,
I am sure Spring will soon arrive for you, it sounds like you are already well on the way to having the bulbs out though!
To be honest though the Hoverfly was so groggy it was very easy to catch the shots of it. I just slowly walked up to it with my camera and it continued drinking the nectar :)
Hi Debs,
Sunny, warm days are so amazing for the soul, it's lifted my sprits no end... It isn't warm enough to comfortably stay outside without a jumper on if you're in the shade, but if you're in the sun as I was - I actually quickly became very hot!
Hi Miranda,
I'm thrilled you managed to get out into the garden to do plenty of work! I need to get digging up the new border but the reality is I'm procrastinating and I'm a little worried it's still too soon as I doubt we're past the risk of frosts...
Reality is, I just want to sit reading my books! :D
Hi Kyna,
The Orange Violas certainly have a cheerful face and the reality is, purple violas are not as easily noticed so although I prefer blue and purples when you need colour to brighten an autumn/winter/spring garden the warmer colours will always be far more noticable...
Hi Deborah,
Sorry to hear you still have snow! Is it normal for snow to still be with you or are you suffering from the unusually harsh winter as a lot of us have??
Hi Anna,
Which type of Ladybird did you see? Mine was a little 2-spot :)
I'm surprised to have seen one so early, but I should probably go record it on the ladybird survey... I imagine there's been a few sightings over the past few days in the UK!
Oh Wow! Liz these photos are amazing. I love visitng your blog it is always so uplifting.
RO xx
Thank the Good Lord for the sun!!! And for your wonderful blooms! Lily of the Valley has been a favorite of mine forever, but I can't grow it in SE Florida. The perfume is phenominal!
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