Spring, Glorious Spring

How I love this time of year - for the profusion of flowers and the soft sunshine. Well, and rain today, which is a Very Good Thing.

Melbourne's springs are spectacular and, at 170m altitude, we're not too different.

This week's joy has been a trio in the raspberry and silver bed. About 5 clumps of Queen of the Night tulips have opened their blackberry petals; an evergreen cranesbill is attired in pink-purple little blooms (a variety of Geranium phaeum, possibly `Alec's Pink'); and Anthriscus `Ravenswing' is opening dainty Queen Anne's Lace flowers above plum foliage (below).

In another part of the garden, further from the house, dazzlingly white lacecap flowers have opened on a favourite shrub, Viburnum plicatum `Mariesii', a paragon growing slowly in poor soil and never watered (last pic). Nearby, Spanish bluebells, yes, a bit weedy, are tying in with the lovely azure flowers of large bugle, Ajuga `Jungle Beauty' (below). I like these blues together but I should add some white or, better yet, lemon to make this picture sing.

And so many perennials are popping their heads up, cautiously: `is winter really over?' they seem to be asking. A lovely perennial from the cool forests of eastern North America is bloodroot (Sanginaria canadensis, top) with pristine snowy flowers over handsome, slightly glaucous oak-leaves which last until late autumn. Like many perennials, it's pretty easy to divide (be careful to avoid the poisonous orange latex or juice) to create more clumps and, to my great surprise, a piece I planted last year (which promptly died down in objection to my dry-ish, unwatered garden) has risen like Lazarus with both flowers and leaves.

How can I go on holiday now, I ask J, and miss all this bliss?

Jill Weatherhead is horticulturist, writer, garden designer and principal at Jill Weatherhead Garden Design who lives in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, and works throughout Victoria. (www.jillweatherheaddesign.com.au)