I have spent every spare moment this week moving the compost and finally on Friday the bins themselves were dismantled. The space is ready and waiting for the landscaper. It is a little muddy underfoot, hopefully a few dry days will sort that out. I have two builders bags of compost, some of this will go to earthing up the potatoes later in the season and some needs a little more time decomposing. Two toads were carefully relocated in the process. All in all it was a good job done and I am giving myself a pat on the back. Meanwhile the garden is moving on a pace. Here’s what I spotted this week.
One
I was admiring via twitter the clumps of leucojum on display at St Timothees Garden and wondering when mine would put on a show. On Friday I saw the first flower. Not quite a clump yet but pleasing all the same. A note has been made to order more bulbs.
Two
The primroses that have been in flower for some time but they have really filled out this week. They are possibly my favourite spring flower, such a gentle yellow and yet still able to take centre stage.
Three
The clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’ enjoyed the sun on Friday. It is full of bud now and the flowers are just opening. A few gardens down from me I can see my neighbour has something very similar and it is full flower. What a difference aspect makes.
Four
The border delphiniums are pushing on and of course the slugs are not far behind. This tasty shoot is so far untouched, Long may it last. I checked the roots of the delphiniums in the potting shed this week and they are coming along nicely but who was also snuggled up nicely in the pot? A tiny slug of course.
Five
Beautiful tulip buds. Such a welcome sight in the garden, good things are unfurling and soon the colour pops will be bursting out.
Six
Another welcome sight is this wonderful green growth in amongst the dead brown matter of the erigeron karvinskianus. There are just one or two new stems so far. I’ll keep a close eye on them and over the next week or so I will start cutting away the dead stuff. This and one or two other losses in this border will provide an opportunity for a re-think.
The epoxy resin for the pot repair has arrived and it looks like next week will be dry so I might get the chance to see if a miracle can be worked. If not, thanks to Paddy’s suggestion, I will be using the damaged pot as a feature somewhere else in the garden – which is rather a tempting idea. The Prop will be around as usual, hosting the meme and running, running running. Happy gardening to everyone.
n20gardener 
Hello ! Pretty tuft of primroses on the second photo.👍🏻
You are the 2nd this morning to have the clematis armandii in bloom : very lucky you
I will replant one one day,I promise.
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I always think of your deceased armandii when this one blooms. It was seeing yours that encouraged me to plant one.
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And now me to have another one !
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It is worthwhile collecting seed from your leucojum. They are large, easy to handle and germinate readily – a good way to increase numbers.
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The clematis is lovely. I hope your delphiniums do well.
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I’m glad your Erigeron survived. Maybe some seedlings will appear as well. I wish I had somewhere for C. armandii – so beautiful
Thanks for your reply last week. Weirdly a good offer came through by email so I’ve upgraded. Loads of room for pictures now!
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Funny how those email offers arrive at just the right time!
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Oh I can’t wait to see the first tulip bud, lucky you! Nice to see that your C. armandii has tons of buds too, I am amazed by how many they produce, a great climber. How do you protect your delphiniums from the slugs? I read that they eat them underground before the first growth appears, so am a bit worried about mine…
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I don’t think I’ve suffered any underground damage ever but they do like the new shoots. I have one or two clumps that are very old and they suddenly put on a spurt and seem to get high enough to be too tall for the slugs, the others sometimes get nibbled but maybe the dry top to the mulch discourages slugs – who knows! If I see damage I do resort to a few organic pellets.
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen such huge bunches of primroses. Those plants must be very happy there. The tulips look like they are going to put on a great show.
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Really thrilled with the primroses this year. I started them off about three years ago and they are self seeding as well.
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Was snowflake planted intentionally, or did it just move in? I never planted it before, but now have a few small colonies of it. It is commonly known as snowdrop, which is fine since there is no snowdrop here yet.
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Snowflake was intentional and I’d love it if a few more would move in. I’m going to order more bulbs as insurance!
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I agree about primroses – such a pretty pale yellow. I am feeling rather sad about our Clematis armandii – it had grown into an absolute mammoth on a trellis outside our sitting room window so when it fell down in a storm I got my husband to take the whole thing to the tip. I am missing it’s flowers this spring although I cut it down rather than digging it out so it may revive.
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I hope it does come through again. This one gets blown onto the trellis in the winds and so far it has survived with just the loss of one or two wispy ends.
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The primrose is a particularly floriferous specimen! It’s obviously very happy. Looking forward to seeing the landscapers handiwork (and well done for your efforts too)!
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