They’re here.
So maybe they have kept me waiting this year. But I’ve never seen them looking better.
It’s such a privilege to have bluebells growing in the wood.
With the carpets increasing year on year.
One of the indicators of a truly ancient woodland.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The true English bluebell. Magic.
The terraces are colouring up too, in spite of their lack of attention over the last few weeks.
Geum ‘Apricot Delight’
Geum rivale ‘Leonard’s Variety’
The geum that started my collecting bug many years ago. It has been divided and replanted countless times, in three different gardens at least.
Geum ‘I never did find the label’
Any thoughts? It’s quite distinctive.
Geum ‘Cotton Candy’
Not a Peony I would have bought maybe, a bit on the lipstick side of pink for me. It does get better as it fades. I include it as something of a minor miracle given that it was moved only last year and yet has offered up four blooms. It had been struggling valiantly in a bed little over 9 inches wide and surrounded by concrete on all sides. When we demolished the bed I didn’t have the heart to throw a peony away, not even a shocking pink one.
Also rejoicing after a successful move, the Lily of the Valley that had overrun the top terrace. They’re now thriving on the front face of the Precipitous Bank with plenty of room to spread, doing just as I’d hoped and holding back the soil. So much better than chicken wire, eh?
Ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem).
Something has been a-munching.
Anchusa azurea ‘Loddon Royalist’
Yesterday there was a plant fair at RHS Rosemoor. Local nurseries and some good prices. I may have gone a bit mad. Mike sat in the cafe courtyard with a mocha and The Telegraph and provided crèche facilities. He wasn’t alone. So funny to go out there occasionally with some awkward-to-carry botanical treasure to see all the chaps, each to his own table, guarding a contingent of plants. We have them well trained.
Love the true blue of the Anchusa. I’ll leave you with a couple more blooming acquisitions:
Aquilegia ‘Winky’
A teeny tiny aquilegia, the blooms little more than a centimetre across. Almost impossible to photograph without a macro lens.
Abutilon ‘Hinton Seedling’
It should flower most of the year in the right spot. Something very similar was growing against a wall at Cotehele when we were there last November. This one is going on the trellis at the back of the new bronzy bed. It’s allegedly safe down to -8.
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Linking to Carol and Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens, where you will find a feast of May bloomers from around the world.
Happy Spring!
pin it?
Even though I created my own little woodland it will never be the same as an ancient bluebell wood – a privilege indeed. Good to see all your other blooms too – you have some lovely geums. My Leonard’s Variety seeds around prolifically, possibly over-prolifically!
Geums are such useful little plants. There are so many divisions now I’ve put them on the bank as ground cover. By next year they should have filled out nicely.
Lovely time of the year with so many Spring blooms!
It is a lovely time of year, especially with the promise of many more blooms to come.
Wow, definitely worth waiting for. How fantastic to have your own woodland bluebell show. I’m taken with your lovely Geum rivale ‘Leonard’s Variety’ – the colour???? I like the sound of the plant fair, too, although my husband would have been in the plants rather than patiently waiting.
I wish Mike was a bit more enthusiastic I have to say. But I suppose at least this way there are no arguments about what we plant.
Good to see the bluebells. Around here they have faded but the verges are getting frothy with cow parsley, I love following the seasonal changes.
Do you dead head your aquilegia after flowering so that you keep just the named varieties? I have bought a few over the years but seem to be left with the blue ones which have self seeded
I don’t have that many aquilegias unfortunately. I tried to raise some from seed last year, they were supposed to be bright blue but have come out deep purple. Not a bad shade but not what I wanted. And despite the fact they don’t show up very well the deer have still managed to find them. They do the dead heading for me. Well, live heading actually 🙁
that Abutilon is so pretty and will look glorious in your bronzy bed. I had to smile at the idea of all the husbands sitting in the cafe and can relate to it well! (After all this time of being unable to get email updates when you post, I realise that you are a wordpress blog too and all I had to do was follow you to get updates!)
I planted the abutilon yesterday and it does look good. But as it was an impulse purchase it’s upset the balance in the rest of the border so I need to do some shifting around. C’est la vie.
Welcome on board!
Looking GORGEOUS Jessica! How the garden comes on at this time of the year, and those bluebells are something else!
Planning a trip tomorrow to a bluebell wood – who knows, I may even write a blog post about it….
Very best wishes,
Rose H
xx
Thanks Rose. Have a lovely day. You picked a good one, rain coming in later in the week.
Happy Spring to you too Jessica – I am so pleased that it has finally arrived – your garden is looking picture perfect
Thanks Rosemary. The bluebells look after themselves, thank goodness. I can claim none of the credit!
Beautiful photographs of a lovely garden repaying all your hard work.
Thanks Derrick.
Just beautiful. Thankyou.
Thanks Jill.
Your own bluebell wood, how wonderful. That Anchusa is a rather beautiful blue, I keep meaning to get it, must do so. A blooming late Spring to you Jessica.
Apparently the Anchusa is short lived, which always put me off. I’m hoping getting it established early on in the year will help its chances.
Looking good! You have such a wide variety of beautiful, and unusual, colors.
I’m going through a bronzy period I think, really love those colours at the moment.
Ooooh, that carpet of bluebells….yes, magic. Impossible to just plant, you have to inherit something like that. Lucky you! Lovely to see your geums, I tried them in my previous garden but they didn’t like the shade I guess, here in my new garden they will get as much sun as they want so maybe I will have another go.
And you have an abutilon! A lovely plant also on my wish-list – if I could just find a space for it. I need a bigger garden 🙂
Wall grown plants are a problem for me too. There are no fences here to train them up against. The side of the outhouse is about the only place and it’s now full! I am experimenting with growing things like clematis through shrubs.
The garden bluebells have just about finished here but they were lovely whilst they lasted. Must remember to get some lily-of-the-valley started when I get to Damson Cottage. Thanks for all the inspirational photos!
Lily of the Valley either loves you, to the point of being invasive, or hates you. You’ll only find out which it is when you plant it!
The bluebells are wonderful. I also like your Abutilon. Abutilon are probably much tougher than you would think. I saw some last January in Florence that had obviously survived many winters, despite the fact that they can get very cold snaps over there.
It has dropped below -8 since we’ve been here but it seems to be a rare occurrence. I had A. megapotanicum growing against a wall in my previous garden for years, in a colder part of the country. So fingers crossed!
Love your bluebell wood, how wonderful to have so many! What a wonderful time of year it is with all your other flowers. You have so many Geums, I never knew there were so many different varieties!
I probably have about eight Geum varieties, but there are many many more. I keep seeing new ones at shows and can’t resist them!
Amazing blooms. The bluebells in the woodland are just beautiful and so are the geums, the peony,, the abutilon, and, well, everything. Happy Bloom Day.
Everything has really taken off in the space of a week, all it needed was some warmth and a bit of rain. Although not enough rain, it’s dried out again already on my clay soil. Hopefully more on the way over the next few days.
The bluebells look fabulous. They’re such pretty flowers but it’s something else to see them en masse like that. My geums are just coming in to flower now, I have Koi and Mrs Bradshaw but I do love the delicate colouring of Apricot Delight. What a cute little aquilegia Winky is, I have a small double one, Clementine Purple, one of the plants I bought when I was adding colour to my garden each month, and it’s still going strong.
I’d love to have more aquilegias but they are one of the plants that don’t appear to thrive here. They seem to be on the menu for plenty of creatures. I couldn’t resist ‘Winky’ though and it was only a couple of quid so worth a try.
Beautiful blooms. The bluebells have been wonderful this year so many on the roadsides as well as in woodland. I love your geums, we have rivale and lemon drops in the garden plus an orange one whose name I’ve forgotten. Lovely lilly of the valley, too:)
Yes, there is a Devon bank just down the road which is smothered in bluebells. I don’t remember seeing it quite like that before.
My goodness look at your beautiful bluebells….you lucky gardener. My Aquilegia and lily of the valley are just ready to bloom here too.
Yes, the bluebells are a very lucky bonus. Leaving the woodland relatively untouched, as we intend to do, should ensure they continue to thrive and spread.
Absolutely gorgeous! I miss the Abutilon that we had before we moved to Wales and shall have to look for one or two. And I’ve never (knowingly) seen any Geum before – what lovely flowers! Are their stems smooth or prickly, as I’d quite like to get one or two of those, but it’s knowing where to put them, we have so many things with prickles. And of course, the bluebells! One of my most favourite flowers, with lots of memories of them from childhood as well as ones we have in our own grden. Delightful post, thank you!
The Geum stems are hairy but smooth, no prickles! Close up photography makes them look bigger than they are. Most top out at a foot max although a few, like ‘Totally Tangerine’ are taller.
Everything looks wonderful. How nice to have the true English bluebells. Makes your garden and property even more special. Just bought my first Geum last year but I see how one could get easily hooked.
It’s very easy to get hooked. There’s such a wide range of colours and forms. I manage to restrain myself to a couple more each year.
Your woodland and gardens are looking beautiful, especially the bluebells.
I’ve been looking forward to the bluebells for weeks. Their growth has been slow this Spring, because it’s been cooler perhaps. They are always worth the wait.
There’s something magical about a bluebell woods. How lucky you are to have one on the doorstep Jessica. Had to chuckle over your comment about the male plant guardians. They have their uses 🙂
They do! It reminds me of one of my favourite shops in Scotland where they provide chesterfields, coffee and papers for the menfolk, so the women can run amok with the credit card in peace.
Your woodland is stunning, thanks for sharing photos of it! I think I need more geums in my garden…
You can’t have too many geums! Thanks Archie.
Your own personal bluebell wood, eh? Hard to beat that! And no, I couldn’t have resisted that Abutilon either. Gorgeous, gorgeous.
It is a stunner that Abutilon, supposedly one of the hardiest too. Already in the ground 🙂
If I could ever get on a plane again I would visit Great Britain during bluebell season, just to be able to see – and smell – them. Thank you for all those beautiful pictures.
There are some fabulous bluebell woods over here, mine is only a little one. Places where you can see bluebells stretching to the distance as far as the eye can see. If only it lasted longer than a week!
We have a geum called Herterton Primrose could that be yours. Those bluebells must smell fantastic.
I’ll look that one up, thanks. I have a feeling I bought this one as ‘Mango Lassie’ and it clearly isn’t that. I’m wondering if it was mis-labelled.
A field of blue – how wonderful! I adore those little Geums too – lots of childhood memories picking the wild ones, as vital ingredients in bouquets. I wish my husband was half as well trained as yours, but sadly he is not. Keep trying, I guess… That Abutilon is going on my wish list – it is fantastic!
I love living in Devon but really miss all the plant buying opportunities I had in a more central part of the country. Plant fairs when they happen are a must and I need Mike there to help carry all the booty home! He’s found the compromise that works for him.
Your comment about guarding the treasures and contingent of plants made me laugh. It sounded like our recent plant swap, where everyone picked out prized plants and then guarded their piles of stash fro the other possible raiders.
Lol. I love the idea of plant swaps though. That’s another disadvantage of living out in the sticks, avid gardeners are few and far between.
Oh, gorgeous! I always enjoy seeing your terrace gardens. And everything looks especially perfect right now. 🙂
It’s my favourite time of year, just because everything looks so fresh.
How wonderful to have a woodland full of native bluebells! I assume they care for themselves too? Having plants that tend to themselves – and are watered by Mother Nature – would be miraculous in my eyes. You have quite the Geum collection too. I have just 3 plants, which I came close to losing to dry desiccating winds a month ago, and had to nurse back to life with extra water – and still, I’ve only had 2 blooms on one plant and none on the others. I think they’re telling me they don’t like Southern California.
That’s the real beauty of the bluebells, they do look after themselves! I divided most of my geums last year, they’d grown into large clumps but were flowering less. It seems to have paid off, although next year will be better once they’re properly established again.
Native bluebells–miraculous indeed, and you are there to treasure them. Your post was a joy–thank you!
I do feel very lucky indeed to have them. Thanks Hoov.
Gorgeous geums and other blooms in different areas of your garden. The bluebell woods look wonderful too. All credit to you for your vision for the garden and your hard work there. Also to Mike, who I believe takes the photos and is your plant minder when you’re out on a plant collecting mission!
Thanks Linda, yes Mike takes most of the photos. Occasionally a few of mine slip in but he has more patience with the technicalities of the camera. I’m thinking of getting a bridge camera of my own to play around with. Fewer knobs and buttons!
I remember the Abutilon at Cotele, I would like to grow it here. You painted a wonderful picture of all the chaps in the café at Rosemoor; thank goodness that in the UK almost every garden centre and certainly gardens to visit have a good café where ‘they’ can be safely left!!! The wild version of the Anchusa is flowering on the road verges and in the fields at the moment, perhaps I should allow some onto the slope. Best of all your bluebells – I would have bought your house just for them!
The Anchusa would look good on your slope, especially with the poppies. If it grows wild it should do well, as long as it doesn’t get too wild! Not sure how long it will last here, they are supposed to be short lived. We shall see.
I knew there were some bluebells when we bought the house, but didn’t think they would be as good as they are. When we sell I shall price accordingly!
Beautiful! Beautiful!
I am a day late, but Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
Thanks Lea. Fabulous time of year for blooms.
I am pleased to see you have true English blue bells, long may it continue.
Indeed. It means the Spanish will have to go and that is easier said than done.
What beautiful flowers you have, Jessica. I’m struck by the variety, especially all the different colors. I’ve never seen most of them before your post, actually. The geums are particularly interesting to me. In a way, they remind me of columbines and I wonder if they are related. I hope you have a good week.
The geums are lovely little things but addictive. There seem to be new varieties every year and they’re impossible to resist!
Glorious!! (and you have reminded me that I must move our peony – my request to Malcolm to do it having fallen on deaf ears!!)
They’re not the easiest plants to move. He does need to leave it until after it’s flowered and then it may sulk for a year or two before flowering again.
May isn’t just blooming beautifully for you, it is blooming spectacularly!!!
Suddenly everything has come out in a rush. I want it to slow down a bit!
The bluebells are beautiful, and I love the lilies of the valley! We planted some last year, but none grew. I’m fairly certain there’s a certain vermin somewhere who is both guilty and well fed.
We do rather give it to them on a plate don’t we. I suppose that explains why the vermin make a beeline for us.
I’m with Christina, I’d have bought your house for the bluebells alone!! I share your geum addiction, just can’t get enough of them – except the fussy double shocking reds, they don’t do it for me. In fact we seem to be on a simple plant buying wavelength, I’ve just put anchusa in and am waiting for it to flower! Fantastic that your Lilly of the valley is starting to do it’s job. Looking rather wonderful all round. How’s the ankle doing?
My anchusa is looking a bit sad after this morning’s heavy rainstorm, I hope it picks up again. Ankle is doing OK, thanks. I dug the first planting hole under my own steam a couple of days ago so I’m calling that progress!
Thanks so much for posting your bluebell wood pictures – yes, a privilege indeed to be able to live surrounded by woodland like that. So nice to see the geums as well! Everything looks splendid and exciting – a happy spring to you too!
I just wish the bluebells lasted longer, they’re going over already. They really are the highlight of the woodland year.
your woodland is beautiful Jessica, some beautiful garden blooms too, Frances
Thanks Frances. We’re very lucky to have the woodland and all the wildlife that comes with it.
and the woodland and wildlife are lucky to have such good sensitive caretakers too, x
They may try my patience on occasion, the wildlife especially, but I do my best. Thanks Frances.
The bluebells are gorgeous and it is wonderful that they’re spreading in the woodland. Ours have finished here so we’ll have to wait until next spring to see them again. The geums are such lovely flowers, a favourite of mine, too. All your photos are beautiful, as always, but the abutilon photo is stunning.
The bluebells don’t last long do they, it makes them even more special when they do appear. The abutilon came out better than I’d expected, the evening light was quite dim but I managed to find just a tiny ray of sunshine to put the pot in. It’s planted now, so less flexibility next time!
It’s all looking so beautiful Jess. May is such a glorious time of the year. I loved looking at your geums- I think I may have Leonards Variety too- or perhaps Bell Bank. Whatever it is, it’s charming. The bluebell wood is a great thing to have and to enjoy it’s seasonal show. Can’t wait to see your next report.
I think Leonard’s Variety is possibly still my favourite. I love the deep coral colour of it. It’s nice that they bulk up and divide easily, I’m trying to build up a drift of them down the face of the bank. Good ground cover too.
Magical indeed! When Nature gardens, she does it on her own scale 🙂 Your Geums are delightful, and I’m so glad the lily of the valley is working on the slope – must smell heavenly!
When the Lily of the Valley start to spread, as surely they will (!), there should be enough to create a pool of scent as we walk down the path next to them. That’s the idea anyway.
Lovely!
I have only 2 geums so far–the ‘Totally Tangerine’ and ‘Prairie Smoke’–they have both been reliable bloomers for me. I especially appreciate how they come into their own right about now, when the spring plants are fading and summer plants have yet to come.
Oooh, I haven’t heard of Prairie Smoke. It sounds lovely and I will look it up. They bloom for a good long time too. Sometimes we even get a second flush of flowers later in the summer.
I acquired the exact same peony! Mine was heavily trampled on last year (building work) but seems to be coming up again this year. It really does need moving now, not sure where to tho’! Spring has come so fast this year hasn’t everything seemed to burst into life so quickly, it was obviously all waiting for the temperatures to warm up.
The difference over this last night has been astounding. We had some very heavy rain a couple of days ago, when I woke up this morning the trees were suddenly in full leaf.
I have sadly missed visiting the bluebell woods again this year…
The window is so small isn’t it. They are beautiful but I wish they lasted a bit longer.
I love those geums Such pretty colours. I am still trying to get my Lilly of the valley to spread. Considering it’s supposed to be invasive, I can;t get it go. I stopped at traffic lights on a really busy road in the city, and looked sideways into the most beautiful garden full of lily of the valley.it was one of those fleeting glimpses that lifts the spirits, I didn’t want the lights to change 😉
It seems Lily of the Valley either loves you or hates you. Last year I had to dig up a whole border and start again, Lily of the Valley was growing up through everything else. And even a year later it is still reappearing in places. I love it, especially en masse, but I pay the price.