Out and About in Spring

Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!
Sitting Bull

A spell of warm and sunny weather lures us out to see our second NGS (National Garden Scheme) garden of the year. The first was a trip for the snowdrops at Mapperton near Beaminster in mid-February. They were a very welcome sight on the wilder fringes of this elegantly designed garden with its formal structures and punctuations of topiary; this garden looks good at any season.

Today's garden is less grand, but with more 
of the human about it. Set in a sheltered south-facing combe in Long Bredy in S W Dorset, the original designer knew just where to put the garden. The sloping site moves from angle to angle, presenting many different faces for planting. A framework of mature trees leaves spaces, which have been developed into areas of lawn, herbaceous border, fruit tree alleys and a walled vegetable garden.

The winter has been continuously damp, but the slopes have ensured that now there is no sign of soggy ground here. The winter has also been very mild, so the spring flowers are well advanced. 

Today the garden was a riot of blue, white, pink, yellow and green, studded with the occasional flash of strong red from tulips and strong yellow from fritillaria imperialis -  Crown Imperial. I didn't see any rhododendron or camellia shrub, and I can't say I was sad; they don't thrive on this chalk soil, anyway. The delicate spring flowers have just as much drama and impact.

My highlights were a carpet of anemone blanda in blue, white and pink, studded with cyclamen and interspersed with clumps of narcissus, the emerging buds of cherry on bare branches, an area of wild garlic with white hyacinths placed at regular intervals among it and the bed of broad beans, looking healthy and well-advanced and with a network of string already in place for when the plants need a bit of help staying upright.