March 2001

These are March Photographs

These are March Notes

Looking back at my ramblings and photographs for March last year I see how far behind the garden really is this year. Clematis that were flowering last year are only just showing signs of new growth, even my Forsythia is yet to come into full flower.  The more hardy alpines however are at almost exactly the same stage as last year,  oblivious to what we would class as a fairly cold winter. Large flowered daffodils also remain unopened in my still almost sunless back garden, though other gardens round about have them in full bloom and have had for a week or so. The bonus of the colder weather is that I have had an extended Crocus season and even the Snowdrops have only just gone over. A very kind neighbour has delighted me with a pot of double Snowdrops, something to look forward to next year.

As I said the Crocus season has been extended with Crocus Zwanenberg Bronze fooling me last month into thinking it wasn't going to flower. Well here it is and I'm pleased to report better than ever. Proving once again that the crysantha varieties are a tough little bunch, as is that dandelion that I can see just putting in an appearance in the lower left of the photograph. Now how do I get that out and leave the crocuses undisturbed? I shall just use my usual method in such circumstances and keep removing the leaves until it gives up.

The second crocus this month I don't unfortunately know the name of, which is a pity as it is a real beauty. I have tried to photograph it at an angle showing the yellow is outside as well as in the bowl of the petals. This coupled with the dark stem (stem is not the correct word, but as the botanical one escapes me you will have to settle for it)  makes for a very unusual colour combination. 

No excuses for repeating my favourite Orchid Coelogne cristata or the description that follows. 

This is an epiphytic Orchid growing on the branches of trees in the wild, but is quite happy in a fairly coarse bark orchid compost and preferably somewhat under potted. Each growing shoot produces a new leaf and pseudobulb along an ever lengthening trailing stem. This makes the plant  particularly suitable for a hanging pot or for placing on a raised pedestal as I have done for the photograph. Normally I stand the pot on another upturned pot which in turn stands in a plant pot tray full of gravel. The tray of gravel is kept permanently wet to produce the damp atmosphere which this orchid loves. Given these conditions and a little foliar feed in the growing season, this is perhaps one of the easiest house plants you will ever grow and just look at those flowers and they each last up to three weeks. 

I hope you agree it was worth keeping in and the new photograph shows off the flowers much better than the old one.

You may have read that Daphnae mezereum is a difficult plant, well not if mine is anything to go by. Difficult to photograph in focus, yes, but it is growing in the shade of a mature cherry tree in poor stony ground that dries out most summers. It does not grow very fast, but it does grow and never fails to flower. The flowers are followed by berries that turn bright red in autumn and provide seeds for the propagation of this lovely shrub.

I made the decision to leave this in also for another year as we are now in the middle of a foot and mouth epidemic which is preventing most of us from visiting the countryside.

Not exactly wildlife,  but we are privileged to be able to see horses for most of the year in the field beyond our garden fence and particularly so this month with three stallions enjoying the warmth of spring and making thunder as they gallop from one end to the other. 

It is good to take time to  realise how much we have, and how fortunate we are, instead of worrying about what we think we are missing in this life of ours.

These are March Photographs

These are March Notes