Beautiful bulbs ...

Crocus angustifolia in the orangery

Today was one of the most beautiful days in the world.

Gibside sparkled like new under the blue sky and warming light that seem to have been borrowed from a dream of the perfect spring day. Our plants have responded in kind, opening their buds that had been tightly pursed for the last week, to revel in the warmth. Crocus in particular have been stretching their petals into goblets tailor-made to fill up with the liquid light.

Spring, perhaps, belongs to bulbs, and who would argue against Crocus angustifolia stealing the show with its golden glow?

Crocus Whitewell Purple in the walled garden

Crocus "Whitewell Purple" is currently livening up the herbaceous border in the walled garden; look out for its feathered orange stigma and the silvery sheen that coats the inside of its petals reflecting the sun in a white haze.

our first daffodils

The first daffodils are also in flower in the orangery. They grow through the mat of ground cover formed by Pachysandra terminalis, whose understated white flowers are the perfect foil for these showy narcissus heads.

Chionodoxa luciliae in the orangery

The sweet blue of Chionodoxa luciliae mirrored the sky this afternoon, and though their flowers only sit a few centimetres from the soil--or the gravel where they've happily seeded themselves--they pack a vibrant punch of colour.

the vagrant Anemone blanda

Finally, here's Anemone blanda, a woodland wanderer tucked in by the yew hedges en route to the orangery. It may look a little dishevelled, lacking in grace and finesse even, but that's all just a part of its charm.

This week's predicted run of halcyon days is sure to stir even more of our beautiful bulbs into bloom ... why not come and enjoy them in the sunshine.

stars of Scilla siberica