It’s been a wonderfully bright start to the new month. Blue sky, a light breeze, and warm(ish) sunshine. It is chilly in the shade, with frosts overnight, but the spirits are lifting as the flowers are blooming. In the garden, snowdrops are the main stars of the show and small clumps are in flower all over the place.

There are also little pockets of sunshine yellow, here and there, as the Tête á Tête Narcissus have burst into flower these past few days. These are a favourite of mine, with their sweet, spicy perfume as well as their bright, almost glowing, petals.

It’s only occurred to me this year, how much of the heather in the garden flowers at this time of the year. In Scotland, heather is something I associate with as a mid to late Summer flowering plant, when it grows over the hills as far as the eye can see. I have planted lots of heather varieties in the garden over the years, and mostly by good fortune, there are plants flowering in all seasons. This pure white one overhangs the driveway.

A couple of the early flowering rhododendrons are just about fully in flower. At this time of the year, they are vulnerable to frosts, but, so far (with fingers crossed), they have been unaffected. Both shrubs have been in the garden for many years, and are well established; they pretty much look after themselves.

In a few shady spots in the garden, where the sun doesn’t reach, the hellebores are opening out. Probably one of the most challenging flowers to photograph owing to their drooping heads, this white one with dark red spots is one that grows more erect. It is the first one to bloom fully; the darker varieties are not quite open yet, but will feature in next month’s post.

To close my post this month, the most pleasing sight in the garden yesterday was this little fellow, standing alone, just a few centimetres tall. In a couple of weeks, the bare garden soil and gravel paths will be over-run with Chionodoxa and Scilla; there will be speckles of bright blue everywhere. These tiny, wee plants herald the start of the new season in my garden, and are a delight to behold.