We had that blip in February when we had a few days when it was as warm as would normally be expected in May, but this patch of London hasn't had the sudden cold snaps, snow or flooding seen elsewhere. A bit chilly, but nothing an extra layer or two can't fight off.
As March turned into April, grape hyacinths took centre stage in the tiny lawn in the front garden. Last year, the grass was getting a little scruffy, not helped by the appearance of self-sown salsify in it, from I know not where. Pretty pink flowers maybe, but not what I intended. So in October, we took up the old turf, landscaped the area so it didn't slope down towards the house wall, got the soil in better order & replaced the lawn. Before we put a new roll of turf down, we planted some bulbs. Orange flowered crocus, the aforementioned grape hyacinths and a small native narcissus.
Not just any old narcissus, but the strain of native daffodil found in Herefordshire & the borders, most famously around the village of Dymock. These are the same variety Monty Don has planted in his garden, which I think is a little further north west in the county. Not sure where he got his from, but we bought ours from the Newent Garden Centre on our now habitual afternoon tea at The Nest, Ledbury on our way home from our weekend visiting the area for the Malvern Autumn show.
Getting those bulbs was a way to have something that kept alive my connection to the area - a tiny nod towards my heritage. On researching my family tree, I was able to trace once branch back to the villages of Much Marcle & Dymock itself during the mid to late 1500's. Having that little daffodil in place, ready to show up every spring, is a great reminder.
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