Fill your diary with lots of blooming lovely events

THE first of January is one of my favourite days of the year.

Who cares if it’s miserable outside or if the house (and its residents) look slightly the worse for wear after the festivities.

I love the sense of anticipation that comes with a whole new gardening year stretching out ahead.

We’ve passed the winter solstice, and the first stirrings of spring will soon become evident.

But before the first buds start to swell there’s time to fill your diary with the dates for some of the unmissable gardening events for 2017.

My new diary is full of inspirational photos of plants and gardens and I’ve made a start on filling up the pages with the events that I’m determined not to miss.

So pens at the ready, and get your plans in order for a great year in and out of the garden in 2017.

First up is the Scottish Snowdrop Festival. This runs from January 28 to March 12 and it is an early opportunity to get outdoors and into some of Scotland’s most evocative gardens and landscapes.

Next on the calendar is the Dunblane Early Bulb Festival, which takes place on February 18 in the town’s Victoria Halls.

This is the Scottish Rock Garden Club’s first event of the year and its a wonderful chance to see rare snowdrops, crocuses and many other small bulbs grown to perfection.

On April 8 & 9, the new season will be in full bloom in the Fletcher Building of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society’s Spring Show is a glorious affair with uplifting displays of daffodils, scented hyacinths, colourful tulips as well as chionodoxas, scillas, fritillaries and muscari.

The scent alone is the very essence of spring.

On April 30, The Garden of Cosmic Speculation at Portrack House near Dumfries will open as part of Scotland’s Gardens.

This is the country’s most astonishing garden and it only ever opens on one day of the year, so ring that date in your diary in red ink if you don’t want to miss it.

And check out the website at scotlandsgardens.org for a full listing of the all the gardens which will be open for charity this year.

I always look forward to Gardening Scotland and this year the three-day national flower show will open on June 2 at The Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh.

This is the best place to talk to experts, be inspired by show gardens and find all the tools and accessories you need to transform your garden.

And this is the year that I have promised myself I will head to Dunsyre in the Pentlands to visit Little Sparta, the celebrated garden of the late artist, poet and sculptor, Ian Hamilton Finlay.

It opens for a short season from June and I’m determined not to let another summer pass without seeing it for myself.