Spring Pottering in the Greenhouse

April 8, 2026 by Cathy

We have had some beautiful weather recently, albeit often very windy. So being in the greenhouse to pot up plants and seedlings has been a pure joy, compared with trying to find a sheltered spot outdoors! (We don’t seem to have any sheltered spots outdoors as our wind always seems to come from all directions at once! LOL!)

Naturally I have sown far too many tomatoes again, as I always allow for some not doing well. But this year the process of pricking out and potting on was so easy without battling the wind, that I had no casualties at all. Anyone want a tomato seedling or six? 🤪

At our local DIY store I came across this tiny set of tools for pricking out and considered it a cheap gimmick to try out. Well, the mini trowels were SO useful!

I am also glad I invested in some long-lasting sturdy seedtrays with lids as my old ones are getting brittle. I just realized that most of them are over 20 years old.

I kept this beautiful Savia ‘Neon Rose’ in the (unheated) greenhouse all winter, well-wrapped in garden fleece, and it has now been flowering for a few weeks.

One cutting survived too, but I bought a few very healthy looking small (tender) salvias and am in the process of sorting through my pots to find some nice ones for them. One of them is called ‘Blue Note’ and I have high hopes it will be a true blue.

I also picked up one of these at the garden centre: in German they are called ‘Trollblumen’ – troll flowers?! The colour is completely over the top, but it makes me smile whenever I go into the greenhouse. They don’t like being rained on, and I don’t think these showy hybrids are hardy either, but what a lovely splash of spring colour!

I have also been preparing for sowing flowers and basil soon, and cleaned and polished some old containers with a special plastics cleaning liquid and then a plastic restorer spray that we had for garden furniture last year.

Before

and after

The sunny days tempt me to get sowing, but we are still getting frosty nights. I have started to put the gas heater on ‘frostwatch’ in the greenhouse at night to keep my salvias and a newly planted agapanthus happy. In the meantime I have melon (a new experiment), zucchini, butternut, cucumber and aubergine seedlings growing indoors to give them a head start. The tomatoes go out to the greenhouse in the daytime (shaded if it’s too sunny) and come indoors overnight. And so the seedling shuffling begins!

Wow, can I really grow my own melons? We will see…. (Watermelons and cantaloupe)

What is happening in your garden at the moment? Have you been shuffling plants around too?

Happy pottering!

In a Vase on Monday: More Hellebores

April 6, 2026 by Cathy

Hellebores are such pretty flowers, but many of them are difficult to see properly in all their beauty while in the garden. I decided to risk picking a whole bunch again… they don’t always last well in a vase so it IS a risk. I also used my very delicate daffodil vase which my Mum sent me by post a couple of years ago – miraculously it survived the journey so it gets handled with great care.

I added some delicate spiraea foliage just emerging from my ‘Magic Carpet’ spiraeas. The leaves are this gorgeous shade of red, or are they perhaps orange? With hints of pink?

It feels like a luxury to have so many flowers to pick from the garden at last!

And how did the hellebores last this time? Well, after 24 hours I have only had one casualty so far. It will be strung upside down in the cellar – oh no, not a punishment! But an attempt to dry it for dried flower arrangements next winter!

I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden – click on the link to see her vase today, and those linking in from around the globe.

Wishing everyone a belated Happy Easter weekend, and Happy Gardening!

In a Vase on Monday: Wolves, Dogs, Roses and Bells!

March 30, 2026 by Cathy

As I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme (click the link for more vases), I am using a new vase which I have filled with old late-winter favourites. The vase has lots of small holes at the top, which means various stems can be held upright at the same time with no frog or pebbles needed to keep them in place.

The title may have got you wondering… so let me explain.

The wolves. ‘Wolf’s milk’ is the common name for Euphorbia in German (Wolfsmilch) and here at the front of the vase is my Euphorbia myrsinites in full flower. Sometimes it flowers in the middle of winter, but it is a bit later this year. It’s a wonderful plant for dry spots, especially rock gardens or pots, and seeds itself around against the wall of the house here.

The dogs: red dogwood, Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’. I still haven’t pruned it back as it looks so pretty and hasn’t started leafing out yet. (And it’s too cold out there anyway!)

Then we have the roses; ‘Christrose’ is the German name for Hellebores and I have picked two sprigs of them for the vase. The dark red one is possibly the best in the garden. It is one of the Ice ‘n’ Roses hybrids. The pink one has also lost its name tag. (One day I will find the nest of a squirrel or magpie crammed full of my plant labels! LOL!)

The bells: daffodils are commonly known as ‘Osterglocken’ in German, which tranlates as Easter Bells. Such a pretty name, and appropriate in my part of the world too as they don’t often open before the end of March, in time for Easter. The tiny Tête-à-tête ones have been open for a few days now, but most of the larger ones are still waiting for a bit of warmth. This one is the first taller one to flower.

Last but not least, as you can see above, the Forsythia opened last week – it literally stopped me in my tracks as I caught sight of it in the middle of the day from the house. A couple of sprigs liven up the arrangement and have filled the vase out nicely. And I think the flowers look like little bells too. 😁

I hope you are getting warm and sunny spring weather. Perhaps you could send some my way please!

Have a great gardening week!

Wordless Wednesday: Wood Anemones

March 25, 2026 by Cathy

The first wood anemones are opening!

Anemone nemorosa

In the phenological calendar this means we are entering ‘Mid Spring’ and it is time to sow (among other things) radishes and salad crops.

In a Vase on Monday: Floating

March 23, 2026 by Cathy

It’s that time of year again where I love to pick the flower heads of my various Hellebores and float them in bowls. The details of the petals and stamens are revealed and can be admired close up without having to get down on your hands and knees in the garden!

Most of the names are long forgotten, mixed up, or were wrong when delivered anyway.

I am slowly becoming less bothered about not knowing what my plants are called. (So many have such ugly names in any case!)

Do you like to float flowers too?

I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden – click the link for more Monday vases from around the world.

Have a great week

and

Happy Gardening!

🌷🐝🌷

Spring Equinox 2026

March 20, 2026 by Cathy

It’s official. Spring is here! (Well, in the Northern Hemisphere it is). I hope it will warm up here now that the days are longer. A good sign is that the Coltsfoot finally opened this week. According to my phenological calendar that signifies the end of winter and the ground temperature must be above 5°C.

Coltsfoot, or Tussilago farfara

Happy Spring everyone!

Five Favourites, March 2026

March 19, 2026 by Cathy

After almost a week away, visiting the UK for Mothering Sunday (British Mother’s Day) , I was excited to return to my garden and see what was emerging. Not much had changed actually, despite plenty of showers and sunshine, but I suppose that is because we are still getting frosty nights. That will hopefully mean that things will not progress too quickly and I will be able to enjoy flowers for longer. In fact the crocuses that opened earlier in the month are still mostly looking lovely.

But the crocuses are not one of my Five Favourites this month – I just wanted to sneak in an extra photo! LOL!

This month was easier than last to find five plants/flowers that grab my attention. And number one for March was not hard to choose: my beautiful larch trees, Larix decidua. Thanks to Jenny at zonethreegarden, who shared some larch twigs she had forced in a vase on Monday, I was prompted to check my trees as soon as I got home. And yes, they are slowly revealing their gorgeous pink flowers. I will be watching them closely in the next couple of weeks.

I can’t stress enough how much I love these trees. I have seven in a circle which I call my Lärchen/Märchen-Wald – my larch/fairytale forest. 😉 I will share more pictures once the fresh lime green needles appear.

Number two is this particular Hellebore, whose name has been lost. The pinkish tinge to the yellow flowers is quite magical.

My third choice is the Iris reticulata, although they are beginning to fade now. These photos are from March 9th. I think the dark blue one is Harmony.

And these paler ones are ‘Scentsational’ but sadly I could not detect any scent… possibly due to the cold?

Number four is a velvety Pulsatilla vulgaris, just starting to unfurl its petals. The foliage alone is so pretty and makes you want to bend down and stroke the furry leaves and buds. The rich purple flowers are an added bonus and will produce gorgeous fluffy seedheads late spring.