My gardening DIARY

MONDAY Could hardly believe my eyes when I realised it wasn’t only the green leaves of our spring snowflake, Leucojum

aestivum, that were several inches high, but in among them, their pure white flowers are bursting through, weeks earlier than usual.

TUESDAY The flowers of

Cyclamen hederifolium have long since faded and the stems that bore them have spiralled to the ground like coiled springs bringing the seed heads into contact with the soil. Their ivy-like leaves, though, are delightful.

WEDNESDAY A tricky job but worthwhile; we’re working on the big raised bed that stretches from the terrace down to the lower path of the brick garden, separating it from the track and the shady part of the garden. At its north end there are at least a score of plants of

Lathyrus vernus ‘Alboroseus’, all with bunches of old, bleached stems, and at their bases new buds are clustered.

THURSDAY Brooms at the ready – every day we need to sweep brick and slate paths where blackbirds have tossed mulch around in their search for worms and grubs.

FRIDAY Hope it’s not too early to start off this year’s basil crop. We buy a potful from the supermarket, separate the plants and pot them individually, growing them on in the warmest part of the greenhouse.

SATURDAY The leaves of a very old plant of Trachelospermum

jasminoides residing in a huge tree pot have changed to vibrant crimson over the recent cold spell. The intention has been to plant it out but it probably wouldn’t colour up as well in the open ground.

SUNDAY So excited as Iris

reticulata and I. histrioides in pots begin to open their flowers. Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ has marine blue-grey flowers exquisitely marked with deeper blue striations.