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Celebration of Spring

74 comments


It might have been a cold day but in an English country garden, spring was very definitely springing!

Worcestershire’s Dial Park opens the garden for its snowdrops but as you will see there was so much more!

A tapestry of spring colour and freshness:

One of many droplets of snow ~ there were countless varieties of snowdrops:

Aconite hill:

A cluster of blue: [Sheila Ann]

And purple ‘George’:

One that I love, Leucojum:

The spring patchwork:

Fiesta snowdrop:

I rather like this frilly green ‘Fenstead End’

This little green beauty took my eye [sorry I couldnt see the label for this one]

Yellow glow of the hellebores:

And a little pink glow too:

A riot of spring colour:

One of the benefits of visiting other gardens is for inspiration! There was plenty here but I came home thinking the key here seems to be close planting:

Colours and celebration of spring:

The hamazing hammamalis ~ never seen so many flowers on one, it was like a glittering golden arch over the garden:

When you think of sounds in the garden its usually bird song but here it was the clattering of the paper bark against the very tactile trunk of the white birch:

Another favourite of mine, Wendy’s Gold:

The warming glow of burnt orange witch hazel:

Anybody like to guess how many plants in this garden?

Spring is so fresh and bright:

What a celebration of spring this garden is:

Situated next to the church in Chaddesley Corbett where the grass is sprinkled with beautiful snowdrops:

More blog posts by stickitoffee

Previous post: If you really have nothing better to do.............with added incentive!

Next post: Where the cuckoo can be heard.....all year......in Herefordshire



Comments

 

Sticky what a joy and a real pleasure and delight .

Wow my favourite season .

20 Feb, 2013

 

great stuff - love the aconite hill - all of it is pretty

20 Feb, 2013

 

What a pretty garden a lovely mixture of spring colour :o)

20 Feb, 2013

 

what a show, wonderful collection & smashing blog ST. I'm off to the garden centre tomorrow as they informed me last week they have some Iris 'specials' coming in. Happy days.

20 Feb, 2013

 

Now that makes me wish I were in England! Those shots of the tapestries of colour are absolutely wonderful, they really do make you think it is spring! My favourite of your snowdrops is Fiesta...what an elegant snowdrop. Your photos are tremendous Sticki...lovely clarity and colour! :) Thank you for treating us to this blog :)

20 Feb, 2013

 

Fantastic photos Sticki....pure pleasure.

20 Feb, 2013

 

What else can I say. Tremendous blog Sticki. Warmed me right through!

20 Feb, 2013

 

such a beautiful garden....thank you for sharing...:-)

20 Feb, 2013

 

Lovely pictures StickiT........The yellow Hellebore..Wonderful""

20 Feb, 2013

 

The perfect mix of beautiful plants for this time of year - just gorgeous!

20 Feb, 2013

 

how refreshing :)
so dreary & cold lately brrr

20 Feb, 2013

 

What wonderful colours, just proves Spring cannot be far away.

20 Feb, 2013

 

after 3 very long days at work this is a joy to behold before i head off up to bed.

thanks so much stickii.

20 Feb, 2013

 

thank you everyone! you're very kind

bampy ~ im hoping to get leucojum bulbs ~ they promised them for next week?!

it was very cold and cloudy so i was very pleasantly surprised how bright everything came out! it is a lovely garden if anyone is ever near here ~ apparently they used to open a few times a year but i have only seen it advertised for snowdrops ~ looking at some areas of the garden im not sure there is any room for anything else?

thanks again, i loved seeing the fresh bright colours!

20 Feb, 2013

 

I really enjoyed your pictures Sticky.

20 Feb, 2013

 

Great blog Sticki & a beautiful set of pics...:>)

21 Feb, 2013

 

Beautiful, I would say "very early spring" blog. I liked most of all the grass carpet with snowdrops. I wouldn´t mind one like that as a real carpet in a dining room, lol.
Well, spring gardens all over Europe seem different now, that is for sure. Mine is partly under snow, and in Lugano there are parks and gardens now full of green palms, large succulents and flowers, while up on the hills there is still snow.
P.S. I also like dense planting :)

21 Feb, 2013

 

Thank you Sticki, lovely blog.

21 Feb, 2013

 

See what you mean about snowdrops Sticki but also a wonderful variety of early Spring flowers and shrubs. Thanks for sharing.

21 Feb, 2013

 

Brilliant pictures, Sticki - I am wildly envious - all we can see in the garden right now is white and flowerless. No prospect of Spring for at least another fortnight. Straight into favourites, so I can visit when I feel the need for optimism!

21 Feb, 2013

 

Yes, this is gouging in to my favourites too, and I will be using a pic for my desktop as well!

21 Feb, 2013

 

Love the Aconite carpet,Sticki.....Does put some cheer into these Feb dismal days.

21 Feb, 2013

 

In my favs too Sticki :o))

21 Feb, 2013

 

What a lovely place, great photos too :o)

21 Feb, 2013

 

Asolutely lovely Sticki, it must be grand to look out and see all those flowers in ones garden, thanks for sharing your visit..

21 Feb, 2013

 

oh, you kind people ~ thank you!! its a pleasure to share a nice garden with you ~ i knew you would like it!! there wasnt a weed in sight either!!!! must be another benefit of close planting?
pity you dont all live nearer!

21 Feb, 2013

bik
Bik
 

beautiful photos of beautiful plants!

21 Feb, 2013

 

Oh I did enjoy this Sticki! Such an amazing place to visit in early Spring, what gorgeous colours, someone there certainly knows and loves gardening. Yes so closely planted, I wonder if it is difficult to keep it looking this good? Those Iris are spectacular......thanks for sharing....:))

21 Feb, 2013

 

Lovin' it. Thank you Sticki.

21 Feb, 2013

 

Hi Sticki, fantastic blog as always. I particularly loved the idea of iris clusters, never thought of doing that, but so impressive. In fact, I love all of it and I'm desperate for more colour in my garden. I do have a little clump of snowdrops which is lovely, but not enough. As to very close planting keeping weeds at bay .... it's never worked for me, just makes it more difficult to remove the weeds without damaging the plants lol:-)

21 Feb, 2013

 

Many Thanks all, bik and dawns aunt,

Janey surely it must take a lot of work but it's hard to tell, I think they only open one day a year??

Oh dear BA that's another of my plans gone then! I seem to spend most of my time taking dead leaves off from the trees behind. I'm sure that takes more time than weeding.

21 Feb, 2013

bjs
Bjs
 

Sticki had to go looking for this, how i missed i don't know Beautiful blog and as you know my sort of plants thanks for posting.

22 Feb, 2013

 

Thanks for sharing stickitoffee, its so uplifting to see all those colours, it seems to have been such a long winter so these are such a joy to see.

22 Feb, 2013

 

You are welcome Brian ~ I thought of you when I saw all those snowdrops, ~ countless amounts, you would have loved it and I expect you would have known lots of them too.

It does seem to have been a long cold winter Julien ~ and you are right it was a joy to see ~ i do like colour! [as you might have guessed]

22 Feb, 2013

 

Thank you Sticki, for making a cold day warm, with all the lovely aconites,hellebores, and the number of varieties of snowdrops. Lovely blog, added to favs :-)

23 Feb, 2013

 

many thanks gralew, its very cold here too! [although sticky toffee pudding on saturday kitchen made me feel warmer!]

spring flowers are really bright and pretty arent they?

23 Feb, 2013

 

Gorgeous! Looking forward to Spring ;O)

23 Feb, 2013

 

Just had a bit of time to have a good look at this again Sticki, wonderful set of pics well done : )

23 Feb, 2013

 

many thanks sunflower, me too!

thanks stevie ~ loads of people there taking photos but no one seemed to mind when any of us stopped to take the pictures and held up the queue a bit!!

23 Feb, 2013

 

So beautiful! Makes me wish I could see it in person!

23 Feb, 2013

 

Another superb photos Pippa!!! Love the purples and the blues , WOW!!

23 Feb, 2013

 

i wish you could too raquel ~ its better in reality, thank you!

thanks junna, one of my favourites was the witch hazel but hard to say really, i love the snow drops but i do like those blue iris as well

23 Feb, 2013

 

Thanks for showing that was a stunning blog !

23 Feb, 2013

 

I have so enjoyed looking at your photos, felt I was there but without the cold. I must say you do some wonderful blogs Sticki.

23 Feb, 2013

 

Brilliant blog, love the photos, looks like a fabulous place to visit!

23 Feb, 2013

 

Wonderful blog to give cheer on this bitterly cold day Sticki....many thanks....beautiful photos...:)

23 Feb, 2013

 

thank you for your lovely comments, you are very kind, kidsgran, stroller, louisa and bonkersbon

its very cold here too ~ the pond and the soil are frozen.

Just looked up this garden in the yellow book [NGS] and sorry to say Louisa it only seems to have been open on that particular day for this year. Im sure there will be some equally nice places nearer you?

23 Feb, 2013

 

That's a shame, never mind, there are snowdrop walks at Rode Hall in Cheshire not too far away, keep meaning to visit, must do it soon or the snowdrops will be over!

23 Feb, 2013

 

might be just the right time to go louisa ~ looks like you might get a glimpse of the sun tomorrow too!

this isnt a very big garden but i will try to remember to let people know next year. some National trust gardens have lovely snowdrops too.

the funny thing is when you have your camera there you often find more, or is it that i look more carefully than i would otherwise?

23 Feb, 2013

 

Great Photo's :-)))))

23 Feb, 2013

 

many thanks tubby! nice to see you back!

23 Feb, 2013

 

Very nice set of pictures.

Derek

23 Feb, 2013

 

Thank you Derek and welcome to Goy!!!

23 Feb, 2013

 

Well, that has cheered me up seeing all those lovely pictures, while sitting here with a rotten cold, Thanks for showing us the pic's. :o))
Oh! Derek, Welcome to GOY :o))

24 Feb, 2013

 

many thanks ladyessex! im glad it cheered you up ~ colds are not nice ~ but at least its not sunny and warm outside ~ you are not missing so much this way!

24 Feb, 2013

 

So enjoyed this, its an inspiration. I was sorry to read that the garden only opens once a year, because I wanted to know what happens in that space for the rest of the year.Thank you for the pure pleasure!

24 Feb, 2013

 

You are very welcome steragram, I would like to know the answer to the very same question. I overheard some of the helpers saying it used to be open a couple of times a year, the bed that seems to be so thickly planted is perhaps the spring area and maybe other flower beds take precedence later in the year?

24 Feb, 2013

 

Must be nice to have the space to do that (and the helpers to look after it all...)

25 Feb, 2013

 

absolutely steragram! there were several helpers but then most NGS gardens have lots of volunteers when they open.

25 Feb, 2013

 

Just l o v e d this blog Sticki,thank you! There are some lovely snowdrops on the embankent of the Severn Valley Railway at the moment too. Adored Wendys Gold! :)))))

25 Feb, 2013

 

Many thanks maggie, we nearly went to the severn valley at the weekend but OH changed his mind. I love it there, wendy's gold is a bit special isnt it?!
it was finally a bit milder today ~ the pond doesnt have ice on it any more!

25 Feb, 2013

 

Sorry, not been here much lately but just spotted this. What a celebration of Spring - absolutely beautiful and, as you say, inspiring. The burnt orange witch hazel is to die for.

2 May, 2013

 

thanks tuesdaybear ~ certainly a change in the weather since then!!

its been beautiful here today ~ blue sky and warm sun but you will never guess ~ my leucojums ~ snowflakes are just coming out!!!!!!!

orange isnt a colour i normally like but i loved that witch hazel!

2 May, 2013

 

Thanks so much for this blog, visited Dial Park about 14 years ago, and enjoyed it then, so lovely to see it again through your eyes.....charming.

27 May, 2013

 

Oh, thats lovely, thanks DD ~ how interesting you went there too ~ has it changed very much?

27 May, 2013

 

Not really, still a true country garden......we visited it with our local Horti group.

28 May, 2013

 

i think they used to open at different dates throughout the year but now it may only be for the snowdrops ~ however they may make special arrangements for local groups?

28 May, 2013

 

I never have seen so many different snowdrops. What fun!

what a wonderful blog, I will come back several times, have already done it twice.

9 Nov, 2013

 

Many thanks Wells, that's very kind of you......not too far till these are out again! This garden opens annually especially for the snowdrops.

10 Nov, 2013

 

Almost too much of a good thing. I will try the cluster of Iris next year. It looks so much fun, a plant in a plant. Now that is good value. You know how money conscious we are in the NorthEast of the states. I also never knew there were so many snowdrops. I think of them as sort of a bridge between winter and spring. A very welcome one. Right now we are in the throes of winter. NOTHING. But when it snows crystals, as it did last night, it is another beautiful piece of nature, we don't see too often. I should have taken my camera.

22 Jan, 2014

 

Some people have quite a collection of snowdrops and will pay extortionate sums to get the rarer bulbs!

Hope you get some photos, no snow here [yet!]

24 Jan, 2014

 

I've just re-visited this blog, and it's still a delight and inspiration a nearly a year later. How's the weather over there in the UK? It's FREEZING here, and there's snow on the hills above us and much worse to come in February, we're told, but today the sun's out, the sky is a deep, deep blue and the weeds are waiting!

26 Jan, 2014

 

Oh thanks Gattina, it's wet, wet, wet here! Just been through on the train from Birmingham to London and some of it seems as though you are riding through the middle of a lake!

Enjoy that blue sky.....and the view!

26 Jan, 2014

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