Last weekend we went for a walk in the Valley Gardens near Windsor Great Park, specifically to see the daffodils.
There is a particular hill where they grow in great swathes, so that they look like a glacier of daffodils. Last year was spectacular, this year not so much, probably because of the recent cold weather.
Never mind, plenty of other kinds of daffodils to feast my eyes on, as you can see here!
I love our tulips. I have planted white, orange and purple ones, and there were a lot of yellow and red ones already in the garden when we moved in.
The narcissi are superseding the daffodils, which are starting to look a bit sorry for themselves.
Time for a spot of exotic colour before the late spring flowers arrive.
Daffodils are still flowering really well in April! And they still have buds waiting to come out!
Spring is easily a month behind this year. Usually at this time we are enjoying the spectacle of the tulips, but these are no more than tentative leaves just emerging from the ground.
Never mind, let’s enjoy the brightness daffodils bring us, along with the sunshine and the warmth when protected from the bitter wind.
On the side of the roads where there are grassy banks, the council have planted swathes of daffodils.
These are particularly beautiful at this time of year, providing a large expanse of cheery yellow to brighten up a grey day.
I enjoy driving down these particular roads, and sometimes take a detour just so I can go and see them.
In gloomy, cold, winter days (even though it’s March) it’s nice to turn a corner and be greeted by a window box of happy, yellow flowers.
These little ‘tête à tête’ daffodils still manage to put on a good show, in spite of looking very soggy.
Gardeners are doing their best to bring on Spring, in spite of the weather preventing the natural course of events.
I spent yesterday just over the border into Wales, visiting a friend on his birthday.
Depending upon how high you were resulted in a different climate. Snowy above 1000 feet, and bright sunshine below accompanied by some very forward sheep and lots of mud.
Apart from many snowdrops and some very hardy daffodils, I didn’t see a lot of flowers. Spring is still very much dragging its heels here.
Winter retains its grasp on the world, yet this poor daffodil still managed to produce a flower in spite of it.
Yesterday we had to cut short our walk because it was so cold, and the wind so bitter. It was the kind that gets into your bones and stops you enjoying anything outside.
I suppose we are soft compared to countries that are always cold, but since the end of February is drawing near, we were hoping for something a bit more spring-like to match the brave attempt the daffodils are displaying.
As a small business I network in our local golf club every fortnight. Visiting the ladies’ loos I saw these daffodils. I was so pleased that they were fresh and not plastic, I took a picture of them.
It was such a nice touch that brightened up this rest room with their happy yellow faces. What a difference freshly cut flowers make, especially if they are suitable for the time of year, when they are brought in from outside to give us pleasure inside.
  
Two more flowering plants are noticeable in January, gorse and mahonia, which are extremely yellow and shine forth wonderfully out of the gloom at this time of year.
 
These are quite exotic compared to primroses, witch hazel and winter jasmine (and later on don’t forget daffodils, celandines and dandelions).
Yellow is a popular colour because it is attractive to insects in an attempt to entice them to visit and pollinate these flowers, but how many pollinating insects are there around in the beginning of January?
My father always said gorse only flowered in the kissing season, but it seems to me that gorse is always in flower… and we certainly kiss all year round!
Walking in the University campus I noticed daffodil spikes poking up between the dead leaves and some were even starting to show golden heads.
It’s usual at this time to see snowdrop spikes (as shown on the right), gradually getting taller as January wears on, but should daffodils be doing the same?
There is a threat of snow this weekend, and even though spring flowers have always bounced back after a freeze or fall of snow, I still feel sorry for them as they strive to recover.
It may halt their progression to get into full flower, but the delay will only put them back into the correct schedule with all the others.
Last year I remember seeing daffodils flowering in January and that felt really weird – they were positioned in a really protected area – and I’m sure it did them no good.
Watching nature while walking 