After a few months rest from the garden, I am back again. The dreary winter months have been spent contemplating what to do this year. After 6 years of tweaking this little patch of mine, I am bored. It’s not that the planting doesn’t bring me pleasure, but that it’s not particularly cohesive. I had plans for a more exotic garden until it dawned on me that the gales that sweep across from the south-west along with the torrential rain together with the fact I am high up and extremely exposed, with limited shelter, all means that exotic plants would struggle. So over the last six years I have been experimenting with plants that I love, but which don’t necessarily love my location.
Given that the plants that seem to do well here are mostly natives (and that includes wildflowers) I have been considering turning it into a wild garden. Adding a natural pond and creating a wildflower lawn in the bit that is left. The pond may require some help, but I hope to start adding wildflowers to the lawn in April: daisies, dandelions, clover and self-heal already are at home there so it shouldn’t take much effort.
I even bought a book to give me ideas. I already have a lot of nectar providing plants and herbs, it’s now just a matter of removing those that don’t help the pollinators and/or no longer please me.
Meanwhile I am happy to see my early spring bulbs and flowers make a return. Crocuses, Snowdrops and Winter Aconites under the Kilmarnock Willow tree, Hellebores and early Narcissi in the Woodland Border and dwarf Irises in several containers.
The recent storms played havoc with the crocuses and irises, but the brave Narcissi and Hellebores are hanging on and I was excited to see the Hellebores that I have grown from seed come into flower this year with some beautiful colours too.
As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden walls then please pop over to our host, the lovely Jon, AKA ‘The Propagator’ where you find links to many more wonderful garden enthusiasts from all over the world.
See here for the participant’s guide.
Cornwall in Colours 
Loved seeing this in the midst of so much misery in the world. I posted a more modest offering of flowers. Thanks for sharing these lovelies.