Have you ever noticed how the roadside verges change colour with the advance of Spring? The process starts with the white of snowdrops peeping out from under the hedges, then changes to yellow with the primroses and the bright bursts of daff
odils.Tthe yellow fades to cream as the narcissi take over and then the white clouds of hawthorn blossom in the hedgerows herald the start of Summer in May. it’s the same in the Gardens here; at the moment, the predominant colours are the white of the snowdrops and the pale yellow of the primroses.
That’s not to say there aren’t any other colours: cream and purple hellebores are nodding their heads and the first of the camellias in the Fernery and Stumpery is showing bright pink buds just opening. There are bright magenta hardy cyclamen and the unexpected sight of an early purple rhododendron in full flower behind the rockery in the Azalea Garden.
Plant of the Month in the Conservatory is 
the Arum Lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica, with its huge white flowers and central yellow spike. Originally from Africa, they have been introduced to all the continents except Antarctica, and are now classed as a weed in Australia, colonising river beds and damp areas. In total contrast, in the ‘Asia’ bed is Eranthemum pulcellum, commonly known as Blue Sage. Its small flowers are bright blue, and the plant is highly prized in China, due to this unusual colour for that part of the world.