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Spring Comes Early to the Garden

© Michael Campbell

Spring has come early to the garden this year, and is spreading its mantle of colour even before the end of February. Frogs who do not normally do their duty until March, are busy spawning and fertilizing the eggs in the nearby ponds, accompanied by the usual noisy ritual of the males fighting with each other in a desperate bid to pass on their genes to the next generation.

Daffodils which usually bloom in March are putting on a display that would not be out of place on St Patrick's day. Late Dutch crocus are in full bloom, as are Iphion and Cyclamen coum, all of which go to produce a beautiful array of colour -- and at the time of writing it is still only February.

The camellias that were blooming spasmadically since before Christmas have now let loose their full array of blossoms, and, as they are in full view from the kitchen and dining room windows, what a wonderful sight to be greeted with in the morning.

People often ask me why I prefer camellias to roses, and the answer is quite simple. They bloom in the winter and early spring when other flowers are scarce. They continue to flower depending on weather conditions for four to five months, and do not open the flowers if the weather is not favorable. They do not attack you with thorns if you have to weed or work in close proximity to the plants. They do not have to be sprayed every two or three weeks. No black spot, rust, die-back, greenfly or mildew, and you can be the envy of all your neighbours with lovely flowers that look just like roses in February and March, when their roses are not in bloom. I hope I have not offended anyone out there that grows roses.

In the alpine house the Allionii Primulas are a sight for sore eyes. For some reason they ignored the early season and put on a full display by the third week in February as they usually do, although some of them did bloom on and off during the winter, or what passes for winter in these parts. I hope we have had enough cold weather to break the dormancy in the alpine seeds that were sown in early January, because the fridge that I used to keep them in was long past its sell by date and had to be dispatched where all old fridges go (having first removed the gas of course.)

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