I can’t believe it’s April already. Turning over the calendar this morning, seeing Easter in a few weeks, I almost did a double-take. The garden is about two weeks ahead in terms of flowering compared to this time last year – the daffs are almost over and about half of the tulips are already flowering. I had intended to pick some for my vase but I love seeing them where they are in the garden and decided instead to use more abundant blooms from plants that have spread around of their own accord: Muscari (grape hyacinth), Calendula (marigold) and Cerinthe major (honeywort). I added three ranunculus flowers snipped off the plants I bought on Saturday to add to the jewel-like colours. This colour combination is one that I’m drawn to time and time again – the warmth and richness of orange, red and blue/purple simply makes me happy.
It’s lovely to be joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden and other bloggers for this weekly gathering. Do pop over there to see her vase (she does have tulips) and links to others from around the world.
In other news, we had a packed and thoroughly lovely day in London yesterday. David was racing in the Veterans’ Head of the River Race, on the Boat Race course on the Thames, so my daughter, the Spanish girls and I hitched a lift with him. We left the house early (which felt much earlier), and David dropped us off at Barnes station where we caught a train to Waterloo. First stop was the Royal Festival Hall for a large coffee for me and pastries all round. I used to hang out here often; it’s a great place to meet friends and there is always something going on – yesterday there was an orchestra practicing beautiful ballet music. From there we walked along the Southbank to Tate Modern, stopping frequently to admire street art, street performers or the view. I took them up to the 10th floor of the Tate to see the spectacular views, then we walked over the Millennium Bridge to St Paul’s Cathedral where the organist was practicing for a choral evensong and we were treated to another wall of wonderful sound. After that, we hopped in a black cab to Covent Garden so the girls could look at clothes shops (an experience that I could happily have missed!), then walked along the Strand, through Embankment Station, over Hungerford Bridge back to Waterloo and onto a train to Putney where we met a tired but happy post-race David.
The Spanish girls are lovely – friendly, polite, engaging – but everything (and I mean everything) has to be recorded on their phones and a few times I had to tell them to look around and not at their phones. Crossing roads, for example. The weirdest thing was an impromptu photoshoot at one of the old red phone boxes near St Paul’s. Both took a turn in the phone box with the door held open, on the phone, opening the door, posing this way and that, with no hint of self-consciousness. My daughter took it all in her stride but I found it bizarre. It’s all about the photo. I have never felt more middle-aged and old-fashioned!
Wishing you a good week.
acoastalplot 
What a warm vase this is Sam – positively glowing. I sometimes get cerinthe seeding around but recently realised that any from last year PLUS all the autumn ones I had sown and planted out have disappeared…grr…! Just had to buy more seed – and only a few left in my calendula packet so I might need to buy some more. The very dark ranunculus adds a great note of colour with the muscari as well. I enjoyed reading about your middle-aged tour guide exploits too!
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Lovely.
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What glorious spring colours.
I know what you mean about girls and mobile phones. When we were on holiday recently I tried to emulate them by taking a very short video as we walked. Luckily, I was at the back so nobody saw me fall off the boardwalk and quickly hop back up as if nothing had happened. A dangerous occupation!
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The first time I felt old was when I noticed that a policeman was younger than me.
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Lovely spring flowers. That sounds like a brilliant but tiring day in London. Anne has made me laugh with her boardwalk story. No smart phones here, but some of us are still a bit dicey in crossing the road. When do they start actually looking for traffic..? CJ xx
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Wow, Marigolds in March! (Well, April now). What you say about the Spanish girls makes me think of the typical Japanese behaviour too… the photo and the pose is most important and the surroundings can be analysed on the photo post-holiday! LOL!
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The more I see of these, the more I want to try, especially when I see familiar flowers like grape hyacinth! I just do not want to get too involved with another meme. Besides, I just grow flowers. I don’t know what to do with them when they actually bloom.
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I love the arrangement, the orange Calendulas add such a bright bunch of color. Sounds like a great day in London, I know what you mean about feeling middle-aged in relation to the young and their phones (actually, I don’t just feel middle-aged, I just feel plain old).
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I meant punch of color.
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My goodness, what a floriferous Spring garden! I’m fascinated by the differences between yours on the South coast and my chilly patch ringed by hills up in the North. The absence of flowers here is partly because of situation, and partly because I’m trying to re-awaken my parents’ garden after years of decline. My father was never one for Spring flowers – he put all his effort into raising veg and a huge, truly huge quantity of summer bedding plants from seed. Real 1960s/70s style! So in autumn and spring the garden is very bare. I’m trying cerinthe for the first time this year, raising from seed in the greenhouse and then planting out, as our soil is still very cold.
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