I’ve just been shopping for Spring Bulbs at Sunshine Garden Centre. Thought I’d go early to get the best selection and, boy, was I spoilt for choice! Over the last couple of years, my winter Catio displays have become as important to me as the summer displays; in many ways more so, as everything is so dreary after New Year. Iris reticulata for February, fragrant, multiheaded narcissi for March, followed by hyacinths for April. I don’t plant tulips, as by May I’m already into my summer container displays.
As April dawned this year, what I hadn’t really bargained for was the intense, heady fragrance of the hyacinths. I was completely bowled over. At every opportunity we would be out there with the British Shorthair contingent, having a morning coffee or a late afternoon tipple. It really lifted our spirits to see such bold blocks of brightly coloured flowers and gave me a sense of optimism and anticipation for the coming season.
I can see the auricula theatre from our sitting room, so I’ve bought violas for winter displays; thanks, Rose, for your inspiration. Orange and purple, lemon and violet, black and yellow, cheery little, dancing faces. When they go over, I shall plant primulas, which should take me through into early summer. Then maybe scented ivy leaf pelargoniums.
Being able to plan and dream up these displays is a good antidote to my autumn melancholia. Although the garden still looks amazing - full of bright, late flowering salvias, persicarias, verbenas and ornamental grasses - there’s no getting away from the reality that things are starting to go over. The gradual process of cutting back has begun.
Deconstructing the garden for another year sure makes you aware of the passing of time. As the first day of autumn dawns, every sunny day that we have is a bonus. My enthusiasm starts to wane. So, it’s good to have a project to keep your spirits up. Know that, as you plant these small brown bulbs, in three- or four-months’ time, you will be rewarded with scent and colour. A couple of packets of crocus, dotted here and there in your borders, will lift your spirits at the bleakest time of year.
One final thing for now; pure white hellebore Christmas Carol is in all the nurseries now. The Hairy Pot Plant Company has them on their stall outside Kenwood Bookshop. Plant them in shade, in containers, under deciduous shrubs and bring light into your life.
Love, Caroline
Cover photo: My latest plant haul!
