End of March in the garden

March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ Leave a comment

End_of_March_2023_Scottish_garden_Daffodils — Delightful Daffodils. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. Today is the first day of British Summer Time here in the UK. The clocks went forward an hour last night, so we will be enjoying longer days from now on until the Autumn.

It hasn’t really felt very summery today though. We have had a mixture of sunshine and light hail storms, and tonight the temperature is due to drop below zero here in central Scotland. No matter, the garden is colouring up nicely so I thought I would share some of the sights and scenes from my garden today.

Scottish_garden_Chionodoxa_lateMarch_2023 — Spring blue carpet of Chionodoxa. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Scottish_garden_Dogtooth_violetes_March_2023 — Dogtooth violets growing in the rockery. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Pink_Hyacinth_and_Grape_Hyacinths_or_Muscari — Lone pink Hyacinth and the first Muscari in bloom. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

As ever, at this time of year, the paths and borders are covered with the tiny, blue Chionodoxa flowers. The bees were all over them earlier in the week when it was milder. The Dogtooth violets are coming towards an end now, but this one looked so exotic today, I couldn’t resist taking another photo. The pink Hyacinth above has been flowering every year for over 10 years. It was a potted house plant that I popped in the ground and it has been here every spring since.

End_of_March_2023_Tete_a_Tete — Tête a Tête. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Late_March_2023_Scottish_garden_Forsythia — Golden Forsythia in full bloom in the sunshine. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Pink_and_white_Scottish_spring_heather — A tumble of pink and white spring heather. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Like the Daffodils at the top of my post, there are clumps of Tête a Tête everywhere. I love their sweet fragrance. The old Forsythia gets cut back every Autumn because it becomes much too big for the area it is growing in. It is very old and too established to move, but it seems to cope with the pruning and this year it is very colourful indeed.

Old_apple_tree_in_Scottish_garden_end_of_March_2023 — Spring sunshine on the old apple tree. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The old apple tree is still looking a bit sad, but I can see buds forming now, and in a few short weeks, hopefully the tree will be covered in blossom again.

The rhubarb is coming along now. The fine red stems look very tempting, but I will save them until they grown a bit longer. As well as the spring flowers, the garden is busy with feathered friends. One in particular sings most of the day and often into the night. I can rely on the robin for some company whenever I’m in the garden, and today was no exception 🙂

Scottish_spring_rhubarb_and_garden_robin — New stems of spring rhubarb and my garden friend. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I hope you have enjoyed my images this week. I will be back in the kitchen next time, so I hope to see you again then.

Spring is in the air

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 6 Comments

Snowdrops_under_a_beech_hedge — Early spring sunshine. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. What a difference a couple of weeks has made to the weather here in central Scotland. February started off with snow and ice, and more followed. The temperatures plummeted. But as the month drew to a close, the skies cleared, the sun came out and at last the spring flowers have started to bloom.

Ice_crystal_patterns_on_windows — Icy windows in early February. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Snowy_Scottish_back_garden_in_mid-February — Mid February snowfall. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

This past week, the air temperature has increased by several degrees and there have been several “blue-sky” days. Great news for the spring flowers, the warmth and sunshine has brought a few into flower at long last. Looking back over past Februarys, I think the cold spell this year has put the garden back at least a couple of weeks. The snowdrops and Hellebores in particular seem late to open up this year.

Clumps_of_Scottish_garden_snowdrops_ — Scottish snowdrops. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Deep_pink_and_white_Hellebore — The first of the Hellebores. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

In the sunshine, the crocuses are opening up and attracting bees which is good to see, and in the shady borders, there are primroses, one of my favourite spring flowers.

Clumps_of_yellow_crocus_and_pretty_primroses — Yellow crocus and primroses. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The pink Rhododendron is gradually opening up. I love the colour of this variety, the blooms look like tufts of candyfloss.

Multi-bloom_pink_rhododendron — Pink Rhododendron. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I was given 3 Hyacinth bulbs by a gardener friends for Christmas and as I type this post, I can smell their perfume wafting around the house. They are are tallest, most flowery Hyacinths I have ever seen, and the colours in the petals ranges from deep, vibrant blue, through to lilac with hints of pink. The perfume is intensely spicy and fragrant.

3_indoor_growing_Delft_blue_Hyacinths — Delft blue Hyacinths. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

To round off my post this week, another indoor image I captured at the weekend when the sun was shining into the conservatory. The rays hit one of my hanging crystals just at the right point and cast a rainbow on the wall. A very cheery sight.

Rainbow_cast_on_indoor_wall — Spring sunshine rainbow. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Until next time, I hope you are able to get outdoors and enjoy some spring sunshine and the very special flowers around at this time of year. Take care and keep safe 🙂

Spring, glorious spring

April 26, 2018April 26, 2018 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments

Solo_Snakeshead_Fritillary_in_spring_sunshine — Snakeshead Fritillary under a blue spring sky. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

It really was a glorious day today. After a few April showers this morning, it was a sunshiny blue-sky afternoon. It was very pleasant to take a stroll, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. Out of the sun, it is still chilly, and the night-time temperature is low, but the spring flowers are at their best right now, and I couldn’t resist another post showing how the garden is looking at this very colourful and fragrant time of year. The scent from some of the flowers is intoxicating, I only wish there was some way of posting the aromatics as well as the images!

Red_and_white_striped_tulips_under_a_blue_sky — Bold and brash, candy-striped tulips. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Pale_lemon_multi-headed_Narcissus — Pale lemon Narcissus, each tiny stem has 4 very fragrant blooms. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I’m in the throes of a very busy period with my work and subsequently, I have had little time to spend trying new recipes in the kitchen. I will have a recipe post ready for next week though, so in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the glorious multi-colours of my Scottish spring garden. See you next week.

Pale_pink_rhododendron_in_full_bloom_under_a_blue_sky — Pale pink rhododendron. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Group_of_grape_hyacinths_growing_at_the_foot_of_a_privet_hedge — Grape hyacinths (Muscari) by a privet hedge. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Pink_and_magenta_hyacinths_growing_in_a_shady_border — Highly fragrant, double-blooming pink and magenta hyacinths. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

March, in like a lion….

March 15, 2018 ~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 2 Comments

Cast_iron_screen_embossed_with_a_lion_and_thistle_and_tête-a-tête — Under a yew bush, a lion and thistle embossed, iron screen stands boldly behind the first Tête-a-tête of the year. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Tête-a-tête_flower-heads

The old saying about March certainly rings true for the start of this month here in central Scotland, but there are a few signs of spring in the garden. The snow has gone, and the temperature has risen (slightly). Today though the weather’s been blowing a gale and it’s very, very wet. I’m still not feeling that spring is here entirely.

However, last weekend was fine, and I managed my first major gardening session for several weeks. I was relieved to see that new life is creeping back into the garden again. The first Tête-a-tête are in flower, and my barrel of crocus seem to have suffered no ill-effects from being under snow for several days, and bloomed in the weak sunshine for a few hours. Ever since I took these images, they have been tightly closed.

Golden_yellow_crocus — Crocus after the snow. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Snowdrops are the main feature in the garden at the moment. The splash of white petals and the bright green foliage bring some welcome interest and signs of life amongst the dying residues of winter and the mostly bare soil. March_garden_Snowdrops_growing_under_a_beech_hedge

Snowdrops_in_a_rockery — Charming and delicate, snowdrops are one of the first signs that spring is on its way. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

The first Rhododendron is also in bloom. One of a few different varieties in the garden, this scarlet one is always the first to flower, and often, flowering not long into the new year; however, this year it has been curtailed by the frosts and snow.

Scarlet_flower_of_a_Rhododendron — Scarlet Rhododendron bloom. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

My lovely pot Hyacinth has come into full flower this last week. The fragrance is sweet and spicy, and quite intoxicating. The 2 blooms are so heavy and full, I have had to add support to the pot.

Double_pink_pot_Hyacinth_in_full_bloom — Pink pot Hyacinth in full bloom. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

That’s the end of my garden round-up for this month. I’m heading back into the kitchen now to get my next recipe post ready. Until then, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the second part of the March saying to come true……..Bring on the lambs!