THE WEATHER -

A fairly mild start to the month, with some beautiful sunny days, and a few early April showers thrown in for good measure! Becoming much colder by the 8th though, with plenty of sunshine, but some wintery showers of hail. Warming up at last by mid-month, with some good sunshine to make everything grow! Distinct lack of April showers throughout the majority of the month though, in fact quite dry for April! Remaining mild with some lovely periods of warm sunshine until the 29th, when a northerly wind made it feel very cold again, despite being a bright sunny day. Still very cold and dull on the 30th. Maximum temperature 20°C (68°F), minimum temperature minus 3°C (24°F).

Brunnera 'Jack Frost' is in flower now, with its lovely little blue Forget-Me-Not flowers. This is a superb herbaceous foliage plant for a semi-shaded position. Its leaves get larger once the flowers die away, and they are beautifully marbled with silver, and a lime-green border around each leaf. Fantastic!

Another shade-lover is Erythronium 'Pagoda'. This yellow-flowered form of the Dogs-tooth Violet grows from tubers, and forms lush clumps of often marbled foliage in late March or early April, then the flowers emerge to give a wonderful display. The plant disappears underground again from late summer though, so if you grow this, be sure to mark its place so that you don't put the spade through it!

A lovely spring-flowering bulb is the so-called Summer Snowflake, Leucojum aestivum. Why this is called the summer snowflake when it flowers in spring is a mystery to me! It grows quite tall, around 2 feet when in flower, and spreads slowly to form clumps. It's very easy to grow, and doesn't seem to mind what soil or aspect it's growing in.

In the water garden, the yellow Skunk Cabbage or Lysichiton americanus is in flower. This is a herbaceous perennial which grows in damp soil or pond margins. The flowers begin to emerge in early spring, just as the leaves are beginning to form. It gets its common name of skunk cabbage from the fact that the flowers have quite an unpleasant smell. However, because the plant is so spectacular, I can live with that for the week or two that it's in flower! Once the flower spathes have died away, a textural green seed head develops which carries on the interest right through the summer. The plant forms large clumps which can be up to three feet high and several feet wide when mature, giving a lush, tropical look. However, it's far from tender, and is as tough as old boots when happy!

An interesting and seldom seen herbaceous perennial is Petasites palmatum. Like all species of Petasites, this flowers before the foliage emerges, producing long stalks with a cluster of sweetly smelling white flowers on the top. The leaves are large and give a lush look to wherever it's planted. It will grow anywhere as long as it's not short of water, and can be quite invasive if left for years without splitting, but this is quite easy as the roots are fairly shallow.

In the conservatory, my Amaryllis 'Papillio' is in flower. This is a spectacular bulb which is also often known as Hippeastrum. They usually (but not always) flower before the leaves emerge, throwing up tall stout stems with several buds in a ring on the top. This variety is one I bought last autumn, so I haven't seen it in flower until now. It certainly is a beauty with its lime green and maroon striped flowers which look as if someone has pinched them at the back to make them oval rather than round! I hope the flowers have been pollinated, because I'd like some more of these!

That's all for this month...... Happy Gardening!!

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

RESURRECTION
Patience Strong

All things are bursting into life from out the winter's gloom,
All things are turning towards the light, deep in the earth's dark tomb.
The trees are bright with swelling buds, their gay green banners furled,
There is no death - the cry rings out across the grieving world......

The Christian faith is pinned upon this mighty, glorious fact,
We humans live our lives by fear and torments racked -
And yet each Eastertide the Truth is brought to us again,
The Truth that is the answer to our doubting and our pain.....

He rose again - He came to life - and thus set all men free.
Death is a dream from which we wake to immortality.