Every year I am fooled into thinking I have a spacious garden. I mean, why on earth would a modest pot like this need all that space?* 
The plants have plenty of elbow room. 
Tiny scillas and modest hellebores are easily visible. 
I get super excited about the first blossoms on the cherry
and the fattening buds on the camellias.
The bees and I become delirious on the scent of the skimmia which fills the air for yards around (you can’t see them because of my photography, but I gave up trying to count them). 
I have this temporary sense of control, I even add a plant or two… and every year nature teaches me a lesson before we reach midsummer.
*To see what happens to the tub click here.
Green Writing Room 
I love this post! Thanks for the visit to your garden.
It’s a pleasure, I always want to share it with other people and now I can in my blog.
Were these pictures taken this year?
We had snow this morning here north of Montreal!
Yay!
Yes these were all taken in the last week. Our Chicago daughter says spring is arriving there, your turn can’t be far behind.
Daffodils and blue bells always call out for nostalgia especially when faced with early autumn here.
Daffodils are amazing because they start in January and then run relays until April, there are some only just showing buds now. The blue flowers are only pretending to be bluebells (which come a month later in our garden), these one are scillas.
Enjoyed the pictures – and it looks a big garden to me!
As always, these things are relative. It looks like a big garden to me at the moment… but I know what’s coming.
I can remember how amazed I was at the incredible speed of spring growth in the northern hemisphere! I think it’s simply that England (and Germany) are so very far north that the plants have to make the most of the sunshine! In our more moderate climes (even down in Tassie) spring comes in a little more slowly — probably because it knows there are months and months of hot weather ahead 🙂
Spring is one great growth challenge, with the occasional frost to catch everyone out. We don’t always get to the hot weather, summer is a sort of random affair – heat wave or rain-fest (sometimes on alternate days). It keeps you on your toes and maddens the tourists.
That hosta, HIlary … I want one. But of course it wouldn’t do here what it does there. Bummer.
It’s totally wonderful.
(Yesyes, so is the rest of your garden !)
That hosta …
That hosta (yes hosta, spellcheck, not host), like most garden successes was entirely unplanned. Anything I actually plan takes its revenge, I swear flowers change colour as soon as they know that I care.
You mean, the way good suppliers somehow know when I start buying their product regularly and take it off the supermarket shelves …?
Exactly, we must have the same suppliers, they have a beady eye on my regular basket, and woosh it’s gone!
This is inspirational and aspirational for me, Hilary. I get my new garden this week so feel free to share ideas for an acre of fairly untidy land with its own copse.
I am SO envious. The usual advice is to watch for a year and see what appears, but I could never be that patient. I assume your emphasis will be on wildlife… so a pond? We don’t have one, but with an acre, I would certainly want one.
A pond is a must but I need to check the best time of year to put one in. And where as it is supposedly best to keep them away from deciduous trees. I won’t change much to start with but I will plant some easy to grow veg.
Monty Don was demonstrating on last week’s gardener’s world, so he has just put one in. I spent much of today in our tiny veg plot, putting in seeds much too early.
This hosta is causing a pop song from the late. 1960’s to pop into my head…I used to hear it (ad nauseam) on my car radio during the long commute to work: …”you’d better watch out for…the eggplant that ate Chicago..dum de dum 🎵 Thanks for the memory.
I found it on Youtube
It’s charming.
What a treat, Hilary….and isn’t that a most pleasantly ridiculous ditty? If your hosta grows gigantic this year, maybe M-R and I can write a song for it…(she’s very good at versifying, you know, besides being tall…..) thanks for finding this!
I’m glad you think it is worthy of a ditty, I am watching for the first spikes to break through, but I can’t imagine it can get any bigger this year.
I was going to say wasn’t that pot for the hosta? ☺ But once again, your yard abounds with new life in Spring. Takes a lot of work, too!
What a memory! It is growing again – many inches a day!
Viva la garden!