After delaying its entrance for so long, Spring has really sprung in recent days. The photos in this post were taken in a Chester garden earlier this week.
The plants making up the kaleidoscope of colour below are recognizable to gardeners as primroses, daffodils, scillas, tulips and star magnolias. Spring, at last, is bringing all things bright and beautiful, as the old hymn goes.
Presentation of Volunteer Awards is a Springtime tradition in Chester, during which nominees from various organizations are honoured for their exemplary service over many years. This year’s Chester Garden Club nominee was Jane Wilkins, a long-standing member who has also been active in a number of other community organizations. Jane’s garden is always a source of delight and, from its blooms, Jane creates many charming floral arrangements for community events.
After a particularly long winter, Chester gardeners feel their patience is being rewarded as warmer weather has spurred lawns and gardens to “green up” almost overnight. Bulbs long dormant are once again serving to brighten up the landscape.
Bulbs provide a display of colour in many seasons but are perhaps most welcome in spring.
Because most gardeners plant bulbs with the expectation that they will regenerate year by year, it is important that the soil be fertile. Fertilizers that are low in nitrogen, high in potash and phosphate will provide the right mix. That means adding bone meal or rose fertilizer when planting, or sprinkling it on the surface immediately afterwards.
Daffodils and other bulbs are also showing their colours around the area. Most bulbs should be planted when they are dormant, and the usual advice is to plant them at a depth equal to their own in heavy soil, and about twice as deep in sandy soil. Even the smallest bulbs should have at least 5 cm of soil above them.
These daffodils were photographed in Chester, where they reign supreme in a street-front bed that changes colour and texture during the year as the plants develop according to their season.
Sylvia’s garden is a treat for visitors at any time of year but Spring provides a glimpse of less-well known plants that add to the colour palette. Many spring-flowering bulbs do well when planted under deciduous trees because the bulbs do most of their growing before the tree has leafed out and also because the roots of trees (and shrubs) absorb moisture and thus help keep the soil from getting soggy, which is beneficial to the bulbs.