April Colours.

I've had another busy and varied week; continuing with the internal redecorating projects mixed with a couple of early dawn morning walks to check what migrants may have returned locally; so a few images stored for future posts. I have also been enjoying the changing colours in my small garden helped by the increased daily sunshine and warmer temperatures until a chilly ENE wind picked up over the weekend.

The Narcissus have put on a good show but are now beginning to drop their colourful blooms.

I am not a particular fan of the very tall large trumpet varieties so my small garden plays host to a few of the smaller 'Triandrus' and 'Cyclamineus' forms including Reggae, Thalia and Jetfire. Over the weekend I was delighted to see that the wild N. bulbocodium had opened its tiny trumpet (sorry no pics yet).

The feeders continue to attract the colorful Goldfinch.

Plenty of blue showing everywhere with clumps of Muscari popping up all over the place. In the last few days I have also noticed at several woodland sites that our native Bluebells are starting to come into flower.

The only other blue in the garden recently was a visit from a female Holly Blue.

I carried out the first of my weekly butterfly recording transect walks on Ashtead Common on Sunday but only logged one Peacock and one Speckled Wood. Although there was plenty of sunshine the gusty ENE wind obviously kept the temperature lower than the flutters prefer.

Since taking these images early last week the Erythronium 'Pagoda' in a side border has produced its distinctive flowers and now I'll have to wait another year for them to show again.

Inspection of two of the four nest boxes revealed that nests have been built but I think the prospective tenants, Blue Tits (usual box on the rear of the shed) and probably a Dunnock (in an open box), have been frightened away by regular visit from a local cat!

A single male Dunnock is still around, regularly singing, but I haven't seen evidence of any prospective partnerships whereas on my regular local patch walks I have seen numerous pairs of Dunnock displaying courtship behaviour. 

 

Some of the other colours around the garden include the fragrant Skimmia 'Rubella', Chaenomeles (flowering quince), an alpine Campanula, the Cowslips (Primula veris) while the Robin (below) continues to add a dash of red to the colour palette on a daily basis.

At best the temperature might reach 16 deg C tomorrow but still with a chilly easterly breeze and then a change in wind direction so more unsettled weather is forecast into next weekend with the chance of rain.FAB.

Linking to Nature Notes

Colour for Mother's Day.

Both sets of parents will be visiting us later today for Sunday lunch so hopefully if the weather is fair they will get a chance to view whatever colours are on offer in the garden.

 Narcissus (Reggae) with the pink cup.

Muscari, Chaenomeles and Tulipa humilis 'Persian Pearl'.

Happy Mother's Day ...... FAB.

Not Quite all Blue and White.

Whilst doing some work in the garden my eyes where drawn towards the two main colours, blue and white, that seem to predominate at the moment.

Muscari and Scilla's.

Crocus.

The whites are predominately from various tall and expanding clumps of Leucojum aestivum, which began life as just three bulbs some years ago, (the flowers open outwards and have green nibs on each petal); the much rarer and shorter Leucojum vernum 'Podpolozje' (the flowers hang downwards like lanterns and have distinctive yellow nibs) and of course the Snowdrops.

The Narcissus are only just thinking about showing some colour but ther is still others to enjoy including the Hellebores with a few darker forms now adding to the palette plus the striped Tulip leaves and the gently fading long catkins on the Corylus contorta.  

Some of my readers will remember the pair of special pots that were a surprise gift from my dear friends at Whichford Pottery and at long last I have planted these up with two different Phormiums underpanted with some Heucheras.

One main task was to tidy up an old Clematis that constantly outgrows it's support. I have therefore used some old metal tubing from the defunct fruit cage to extend its height and spent ages untangling the old stems, pruning and then retying into the support. I just hope the display is as good as in previous years, but only time will tell.  FAB.