A wander round the Boggy Brae garden on my return from Derbyshire

The morning of 10 April 2015 was hazy and cool but looked promising. After my long drive back from Derbyshire, via Poulton-le-Fylde to see my mum and brother, I had little energy for much more than loading the washing machine and wandering in my wellies to see where the wonderful wildness of the boggybrae was at. Yes, I know that's bad grammar. Just grit your teeth and bear it ;)

DerbyshireDaughter and I had seen ash tree flowers at this stage. Approximately two and a half degrees of latitude further north, ash buds have not yet burst.

The state of the ash trees at Boggy Brae on 10 April

Hawthorn budburst

Hawthorn buds have burst, and so have those of wild cherry and rowan.

Wild cherry budburst

Rowan budburst

This pic is from the old half dead rowan near the top of the garden. Interestingly, the younger one that's level with the house, lower down, has not burst its buds yet. The Grey Sallow in the field copse near it is flowering away.

Grey Sallow

Back up near the top of the garden again, I looked down over house roofs at what I call the "Balloon Boat" (because the buoys it carries can seem like balloons) working at securing mooring buoys on a hazy loch.

Under the keeling cypress tree up there, I found a lot of Wood Pigeon feathers. Evidence of a sparrowhawk's meal, I suppose.

Wood Pigeon feathers

Up there where I did some clearing of spiraea last autumn, I had marked where some bluebell leaves were showing. In amongst them there are the early shoots of Peruvian Lilies.

shoots of Peruvian lilies

Salmonberry

I spotted a small Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) among the new shoots of Solomon's Seal. I'd thought this plant had died and I pulled up its dead main stem last year. This shoot is a little way away from where the parent plant stood so I guess it has grown as a sucker from a root. I'm excited about this as it has lovely pink flowers though, being so young, it might not flower this year.

Wandering down to the house again, I found the first dandelion of the year.

Dandelion

Lower still, by the steps from the shed, violets are not flowering yet but they do appear to be spreading. That's got to be good!

Violet leaves

The struggling peony (it didn't flower last year) is pushing up red, Common Cat's Ear basal rosettes are appearing everywhere, Lungwort is thinking about flowering, and aquilegia leaves are looking good.

Common Cat's Ear
basal rosette

Lungwort

Aquilegia leaves

Field Wood-rushes are flowering in profusion on the south-east slope and the early deep pink rhododendron (what's left of it; some has died) is beginning to open its flowers for the bees.

Lastly, my small lawn of Common Smoothcap Moss (Atrichum undulatum) is looking very green under The Big Rhodie (Rhododendron ponticum) under which I intend to sit once the weather warms up some more. There have been heavy showers of hail and sleet today. The tops of the hills look white again when one can see them at all but right now the sun's out so I'm off for another wander while I can. Happy Spring!

Common Smoothcap Moss (Atrichum undulatum)