It's 16th April - normally we'd be enjoying the daffodils, forsythia, and a few trees and hedges might be starting to show some green in this chilly part of the country. Not this year! I've seen swallows arriving and ...
Today was gloriously sunny and warm. The countryside is an absolute picture with everything bursting into bloom and fresh green all at once. I have never seen Kanzan cherry out in April, the same time the blackthorn is in full bloom - it normally flowers a month or so later - not only that bluebells are coming into flower in the woods - again a month early! Horse chestnut is in full leaf and even oak and ash look as though they'll soon be showing leaf - all fully a month, even 6 weeks early.
Enjoy this special spring while it lasts, and let's hope there isn't an Arctic blast 😮 on the way just to confound us! Nature is showing us her full glory all at once! 😀
Spring has definitely sprung early...so lets hope we don't get any late frosts. The daffodils here (Kent) have primarily come and gone, in the garden I still have a fab display of primroses and some tulips, although mostly they have gone, the bluebells (white and blue ones) are starting to come into flower in the garden, a joy to see - hoping to make a visit early next month to Emmets Gardens to see the bluebells.
Do you have a kanzan cherry in your garden? Here the pear tree was starting to bloom in March and earlier in the month the lilac trees were out in full colour - usually they come out in May.
My borage plants (self seeded from last year) are just starting to come into flower, again really early....they are a great and beneficial plant as the bees love them
I love the Spring, I am semi-rural and the other day saw lambs in the field...such a delight...shame they don't stay lambs for long...brings me back to childhood memories...when my aunt and uncle owned a farm and they ended up having to look after a couple of lambs as the mother abandoned them...I remember having to feed them with a bottle...childhood memories....
Kent is usually about 3 weeks ahead of us at Spring in a normal year - so guessed the daffies were well past with you AtlanticPearl!
The Kanzan cherries are surrounding our village church - and why I know when they normally flower is because handsful of falling petals were used as confetti at my mother-in-law's second wedding, 20th May (she had been widowed) - a glorious day and a wonderful family occasion. We have a smaller cherry in the garden which has been there at least 50 years, which is covered in a profusion of very double fine petalled pink flowers and usually flowers about 10 days or more before Kanzan but they are out together!
We used to grow about 40 acres of borage for pharmaceutical use (starflower oil) but they now grow it in China as they can get it cheaper! The bees made some wonderful borage honey (we had masses of hives brought here for the flowering season), followed by the oilseed rape flowers - that coming into flower now too!
We are getting desperate for rain now - we can't water the whole farm!