What a bumper spring again! It’s arrived very early and is very floriferous. The ground is slowly drying out and, despite some chilly weather at the end of March, we have avoided any significant frost.
The best things about April are the later-flowering daffodils, lots of cherry blossom, and large swathes of the American bluebell, Camassia, throughout the arboretum. Within the Quiet Garden, thousands of red tulips will peak, including both ‘Little Beauty’ and the taller, brighter ‘Red Shine’.
I think my highlight of this time of year is all the fresh foliage emerging, particularly in the shadier plantings and the contrasts between these plants. The Phelps Garden is a good example of this, with the fresh silver foliage of the cardoons contrasting with the early ‘fan’ of day lily leaves, the beautifully palmately lobed leaves of Macleaya, and the delicate, fern-like foliage of Thalictrum. All of these plants will peak later in the year, but their pure vitality and early colours are very special, further accentuated by the dark mulch.
On the terrace are a couple of sun-loving, silver-leaved Astelia ‘Silver Shadow’, which are looking very striking following the very mild winter. Other plants that are a joy to see growing include the erect green fronds of the shuttlecock ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris), planted next to the contrasting Euphorbia griffithii ‘Dixter’, with its narrow, bronze-red young leaves, emerging somewhat similarly to asparagus. Our hostas are setting fantastic spikes of leaf buds, piercing the thick mulch. They unfurl one leaf at a time and perfectly capture rainfall as jewel-like beads.
Our tasks this month include finishing all the mulching, as well as cutting the low Euonymus hedges and topiary. Jo will be busy in the Community Garden, sowing lots of seeds in the greenhouse and planting out produce and flowers as the month progresses. Planting out potatoes is a real sign that winter is finally over!
We hope you have a lovely time visiting the gardens this April.
James Cross, Head Gardener