A glorious day

You would have thought it was a spring day.  Sunshine and warmth is certainly tricking the plants into early growth but as we all know, mother nature can have a nasty sting in her tail; I only hope we don't get a sustained cold spell.

In a sheltered area of this garden, Melianthus major is already 2 foot high and looks as luscious as it can be with new growth surging ahead. Although it's only half hardy, on the south coast of the UK we seem to be able to get away with keeping it outside with a little protection. Having said that, this plant hasn't had any protective layer this year and I'm amazed how well it's done.

A plant that is synonymous with winter flower and scent is the Chimonanthus praecox.  Common name: wintersweet.  It needs space to grow and doesn't take too kindly to human intervention so be very cautious when using those secateurs.  Go in too heavy and you may wonder why your plant isn't flowering.

I was hoping to get some roses planted which have been heeled in for the last 5 - 6 weeks but although the rain has eased a little over the past few days, the ground continues to be saturated. This particular garden has a very high water table and at times you may be as well making mud pies.  In this instance, I'm hoping patience really does pay off.