Rediscovered delights of the garden in spring

Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) in the garden

I cannot avoid mentioning real life now. I dare say most of us are in some kind of lockdown as the Covid-19 Coronavirus spreads in the UK. It all seems so surreal and here in Cardiff it still does not feel that close, although it must be out there somewhere, prowling the city streets and the supermarket shelves.

It looks like I am one of the lucky ones, working busily from home for the council Highways department, with laptop and mobile phone. It has been a week now and the novelty has not yet worn off.

This also gives me a chance to care more for my husband, who is devastated by the fact that his urgent hip replacement surgery, due this week, was cancelled to allow the NHS to deal with the virus crisis. He is in pain and very immobile and I am not going out, apart from for exercise, to avoid bringing the infection back to him.

A rare visitor – goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) on Buddleia davidii seeds

The community is showing its true colours in a crisis – a colleague brought the Radio Times, one neighbour brought toilet rolls and another will mow our lawn as the professionals are being put out of business.

We are also able to order wonderful fresh fruit and veg, bakery and deli delights to be delivered from small local shops. I hope they do well out of all this while my usual supermarket has failed to provide delivery slots.

The isolation also gives me a chance to catch up with photographing my garden and the local parks after several years of neglecting them as I have been too busy working down in Cardiff Bay.

After so much wet weather lately I thought the neighbour’s mossy roof would be interesting to follow…

…this is an ash seedling (Fraxinus excelsior) – but a week later after days of sunshine even the moss on the roof looked dry and dead

For starters, here are some snaps of my back garden this week…

Tiarella coming into flower

Japanese Acer dissectumin a pot

Another Japanese maple – although these are the leaves from the rootstock, different from those yet to come through above, of Acer dissectum atropurpureum

Snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) in the shade…

…the white version is less vigorous

Fading flowers of holly-leaved or Corsican hellebore (Helleborus argutifolius)…

…and new growth from the roots

I don’t have much luck with Bergenia – and this flower has been broken off, probably by the squirrels

Sycamore sapling (Acer pseudoplatanus)

Celandine among ivy and cow parsley leaves

Dandelion

Wood pile or habitat pile at the top of the garden – remains of a mighty old ash tree that fell in 2017

Flower buds of laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)…

…and more advanced flowers nearby

There is still a gap in the canopy where the big ash tree fell

I think this is what I would call a smooth-leaved holly tree

Returning down the steps from the wild garden, this is a Ribes or flowering currant – but it was pruned recently so I don’t expect many flowers this year

Deep in the shade of the leaves, Mahonia berries waiting to ripen and feed the birds – until then it will be dried raisins every morning, until my stocks run out

Hebe on the rockery

Leaves of Deutzia purpurascens

The neighbour’s Forsythia flowers are dying back now – but I am glad it survived being cut back to a stick a few years ago

Heuchera has made it through the winter

Leaves of Campanula

Violets self-seed everywhere

Variegated Hydrangea

Fuchsia is sprouting for another spring

Best wishes to everyone else out there readjusting to the new normal – and Stay Safe, as they say…