"Fair Maids of February"
I made a brief visit to Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens last Thursday to see snowdrops, hellebores and winter aconites.
Hellebores
There are beautiful displays of snowdrops particularly in the Lower Wilderness
Clumps of snowdrops interspersed with cyclamen, aconites and lungwort
Snowdrop
"Thou first-born of the year's delight
Pride of the dewy glade,
In vernal green and virgin white
They vestal robes array'd"
Keble
Winter Aconites
Aconites and Snowflakes
Daffodils are almost in flower in the Secret Garden
Lungwort
It was freezing cold with a biting wind but a lovely walk that managed to blow "the cobwebs away" !
Hi again Caroline :-) What a lovely, cheery post on a bitterly cold day. All the flowers are so pretty. I love Winter Aconites, there is a place locally where they have grown wild since I was a child. Seeing the Lungwort reminds me that every year when I see it on blogs I always intend to plant some in the garden...and then always promptly forget!
ReplyDeleteWe have flurries of snow here so your post is a lovely reminder that Spring can't be too far away :-)
Sorry to read of the problems you had with Firefox. I wonder if there were some boxes you should have unticked when you installed it which would have prevented the unwanted items. Unfortunateky they can easily be overlooked.
ShySongbird - Hi again Jan :) Thank you so much for your lovely comment. The Winter Aconites are so pretty - we tried to grow them in our mini wood without success but it must be wonderful to see them growing wild.
ReplyDeleteI've got a few Lungwort plants in the garden but they seem to flower much later in the year - bees love them :)The little pink and blue flowers remind me of Forget me nots :)
Its been snowing here tonight too - only lightly but its settling ! Will be so glad when Spring finally arrives. I can't wait to see my first butterfly or moth!
Thanks for the hint re: Firefox and boxes unticked. I will get Brian to download it again tomorrow watching out for boxes. Funmoods and Babylon search engines are just a nuisance really as they appear whenever I open up Google Chrome - I just close them down as they are full of the dreaded adverts!!But thanks again for your help - it really is appreciated :)
It's great to get out however cold it is and good to see such cheery colour offered by early spring growth.
ReplyDeleteWinter aconites certainly help to make up for lack of sunshine!
Some lovely pics there Caroline :)
Tricia - Many thanks :)
ReplyDeleteWinter aconites are one of my favourites :)
It seemed even colder today if that's possible! Hopefully, some milder weather next month.
Those Hellebores are stunning and I love the keys at the end.
ReplyDeleteOh what a great post I'm getting so excited about seeing all this new life delighting us again. We drove up to Norfolk last week and on the way drove past a streach of roadside with more Snowdrops than I had ever seen before in one place - it was so exquisite.
ReplyDeleteEm Parkinson - Many thanks. Must admit I would love some Hellebores in my own garden - there seem so many lovely varieties. Glad you liked the keys - my favourite photo of them all :)
ReplyDeleteJerry - Thank you so much. It so wonderful to see everything starting to come to life again :) I saw loads more snowdrops today in a churchyard - beautiful :) There is something very special about Spring flowers and snowdrops in particular.
We're off to Norfolk soon for a few days - must admit I can't wait. Have wanted to go for more years than I care to remember :)
A lovely post. The early spring flowers are so pretty and so cheering on these bitterly cold February days.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your visit to Norfolk.
Dartford Warbler - Many thanks :) Looks as though its going to be another cold week :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for your good wishes re: Norfolk :)
The cold has an appeal to it. Granted, not for long, but just enough to experience:) Then it's back inside the house to warm up again. The sun is important:)
ReplyDeleteRohrerbot - Excellent points you make Chris! :)
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