Spring in the landscape and the garden
Finally, the spring is here… After all the rain we had this winter, there’s finally some sunshine to dry the ground!
Although I love all the seasons, each having a unique appeal and character, spring brings a welcome relief from the cold and darkness of winter…
There’s new growth everywhere and fresh green dominates the landscape, occasionally sprinkled with white blossom of native hedgerows.
Apart from blossoming trees and shrubs, one of my favourite spring treats are fields covered in cowslips…
Planting a native flowering hedge, some fruit trees and a woodland border is a great way of incorporating spring blossom into your garden in a subtle and organic way.
If you have Amelanchiers, Magnolias or plum trees in your garden, you’re probably enjoying their spectacular blossom right now.
Naturalizing spring bulbs in a lawn or areas of longer grass is another great way of providing interest and much needed food source to early pollinators this time of the year…
Of course daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs are always a treat, and hopeful your garden, like mine, is full of them!
Top plants for spring interest
As mentioned above, bulbs should not be the only source of spring blossom in a garden, whatever the size…
I would suggest incorporating spring interest into every layer of your garden, from trees to groundcover.
These are some of my favourites for each of the main layers of a mixed border:
- Amelanchier lamarckii
- Skimmia × confusa ‘Kew Green’
- Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae
- Erysimum ‘Winter Orchid’
- Primula veris
Flowering cherry trees perhaps deserve their own list…
The following are great choices for native hedges with beautiful white blossom if you have the space:
And finally my favourite bulbs to naturalize in a lawn or rough grass for an elegant natural look:
Especially with the bulbs, there are endless cultivars to choose from and I’m sure you also get dizzy looking at catalogues every autumn!
Here are three of my favourites this season:
It’s great to experiment, and gardening or designing a garden is a process that never really ends.
But if I could give you one tip, it would be to keep things simple and stay true to your vision – whether it’s a calm oasis or a riot of colour!
I really hope you feel inspired by some of my thoughts and choices above…
Please contact us if you would like to discuss how we can help you with your project!
