
Welcome to a sunny End of Month View! Last month’s EoMV, I note was sunny too, but frankly there’s been precious little in between. The lawn is still soggy, and although it has been cut once during the month, it’s only marginally less field like.
The Swing Beds are much the same as last month just with some more bulb foliage, as well as plenty of Sisyrinchium striatum leaves. Long standing readers may remember these beds got rather overwhelmed with Sisyrinchium, so I dug them out, only to go on a visit to Mottistone Manor last summer and really admire them there, so I moved a whole lot back. Fickle? Moi?
The Grass Bed is also similar to last month, but here, as well as bulb foliage, there are plenty of forget me nots, some of which are just starting to flower.
There’s nothing in the Veg Bed for the Diving Lady to admire currently, but she does have a new pool. Last year’s rather purple Iris reticulata ‘Blue Note’ has been replaced with Iris histrioides ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley.’

In the shady bed the Hellebores are still the highlight
particularly this lovely dark one.
Just behind it is a Sarcococca confusa which has finally got big enough for the scent to be apparent without having to scrabble around sniffing at kneecap height!
At the other side of the garden, this Hamamelis, H. ‘Arnold’s Promise,’ is finally (after about six years) starting to make a statement,
whilst in the Bronze Bed, H. Aphrodite is a little less shy than she was a couple of weeks ago.
The idea was that the colour of the Hamamelis blooms would be picked up by the trumpet of the Narcissus ‘Cragford’. Well sort of!

Along the boundary with next door, is this inherited grass, absolutely glowing in the low light. It’s really time for a cut back, but I’ll for a while longer. Any clues what it is? I’m thinking maybe Miscanthus?

There are plenty of pots around including this new one planted up by the front door. For once I’ve got the Crocuses past the mice.
And meanwhile in the greenhouse, I’ve finally planted out my ‘Owl’s Acre’ supposedly early flowering ‘Winter Sunshine’ Sweet Peas. I don’t quite see them flowering in March, as suggested on their website, but I think I have to take a lot of the blame for that.

Elsewhere in the greenhouse, I’ve finally started planting seeds

as well as pricking out autumn sown seeds – this time Rhodochiton atrosanguineus, which I’m hoping to have growing up the obelisk again this year.
And to finish, a bucket full of N. ‘Tete a tete’ – so cheery!
With thanks to Helen at the Patient Gardener for hosting all out EoMV.