Spring surprises

One joy of returning home after our holiday was the very greenness of England! Norway was still at that slow turning point of winter, the temperatures were warmer, but plants and trees were at the very early stages of rebirth.

Then bam! We arrive home and trees are in leaf, grass has grown tall, and blossoms are everywhere! The entire atmosphere seemed to have a spring-green aura, resplendent in those early acid-green hues of new leaf.

On return from a journey I often wander round the house a bit, reacquainting myself with home. Then I venture out to the garden, to see what’s been happening in my absence. I took my camera this time...

The apple tree that I planted only a few years ago, which suffered very tricky early years due to an onslaught of rain, has not only survived but is thriving, covered in dozens and dozens of pink buds. Is there any better image of spring than pink blossom?

Well, yes, or at least an equal partner – the tulip, my favourite flower, and these deep blackish-purple and pale pink bulbs keep coming back year after year.

They popped up in front of the lemon balm and the trailing rosemary. I am always torn whether to pick them to display indoors or leave them to stand dignified in their place. They are still outside at the moment, but it’s due to rain tomorrow...

The bleeding heart are in full bloom in a shadier part of the garden:

I am fascinated by bleeding heart plants. Their shape and colours enchant me. And they have spread rather prolifically this year!

I love watching ferns unfurl, the process is beautiful and ever so slightly creepy to me – the fronds look rather furry, and the stretching fronds resemble alien-like limbs...

But ferns are my favourite plant; I have a whole section of the garden devoted to a number of varieties, and this Japanese painted fern is a gem! The spent snowdrop is crowding this little beauty a bit, add that to my garden chores list...

And I added more jobs to the list as I toodled around with my camera that first day home:

The bronze fennel is filling out. I adore its feathery, frothy stems, it adds such an interesting texture and colour to the herb border – but hey! Is that mint sneaking in my photo in the background, amidst the early sprigs of lavender? Tsk tsk tsk...he should know better, I even planted him in a pot in the ground, but mint is the Houdini of the plant world! It escapes any container and roams freely about...

And the sweet cicely is being smothered, she’ll have to be moved soon, too, after flowering. There’s a corner of the herb border that already has some sweet cicely, but there’s always room for more.

I had another lovely spring surprise when I came home:

A wonderful parcel from Gilly of gilly makes – we took part in Jo’s spring brooch swap a while back, but with both of our full schedules, we waited a bit for our gift exchange. This parcel was a perfect pick-me-up as I settled into the post-holiday routine – not only did she make me a gorgeously cute owl brooch, but she has spoiled me rotten with all sorts of haberdashery goodies! So thoughtfully packaged...buttons, ribbons, even a zip and pretty spotty fabric...thank you so very much, lovely Gilly!

There are small pockets of time when it is not raining this weekend, I’m going to get out and start catching up with my garden. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Chrissie x