Mothering Sunday in the Garden Museum

I made some posies yesterday for the Garden Museum's Mother's Day treat - a personal Q&A with Matthew Biggs (of Gardener's Question Time), cream tea in the lovely cafe, and a bunch of flowers and a planted gift to take home.

The beautiful cutting garden is choc-a-block with different narcissi, hellebores, and the promise of tulips.

I think this daffodil is called Pink Pride - what a wonderful name! (And on a side note, I was delighted to see Paul Harfleet interviewed in the Guardian yesterday. His Pansy Project is one of the loveliest and most peaceful acts of defiance I've heard of.)

I filled buckets full of spring flowers, mixing tulips. and sweet-smelling hyacinths and genista (broom) with the daffodils.

Once I'd finished making the bunches, I went to see Liz, one of the museum's talented and dedicated gardeners.

She had finished planting up gifts for mothers/children to take - florists' favourite Narcissus 'Erlicheer' along with violets and something else...ivy, maybe?

She was writing labels for the gifts when I came over. I admired her shiny new hand trowel!

I took some pictures of the knot garden and the spring bulbs that have flowered or are on their way.

There are primroses too - the perfect flower for Mother's Day because they symbolise childhood!

A very merry May Day

On May Day this year, I saw the following in flower: daffodils, narcissi, hyacinths, bluebells, muscari, forget-me-nots, roses and peonies. It was as strange to see early spring flowers so late as it was to see summer flowers at the same time. But the strangest thing was seeing winter flowers.

I saw a few hellebores when I was out and about in April, and Greenwich Park had some beautiful displays yesterday. Known as the Christmas rose, hellebores usually flower in winter and early spring. I’m sure there are some clever gardeners who can force their plants to flower for Christmas, but generally they flower a bit later in winter. They come in quite muted colours – white, apple green, pinky-white – and dramatic purples.

This is a green hellebore that I snapped on my travels in April.

And in Greenwich Park yesterday, there were a few solitary snowflakes. I don’t know if they were the spring or summer variety, but they were such pretty, delicate flowers. There you go – Christmas roses and snowflakes on May Day!