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Garden Blog 15 – A Hint of Spring

Have you seen the snowdrops yet?  They are quite beautiful.  There’s something about their white simplicity that speaks of purity.  They look so clean, even though they bloom at the time of year when gardens on the whole look a bit mucky.  I was interested to read that snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are a source of galanthamine which was isolated from their bulbs and is used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.  Other plants also contain this substance just as other plants contain other substances used in pharmaceutical drugs.  In fact, I saw on the BBC website that 50% of medicinal drugs contain plant based substances.  Isn’t that amazing. 

Snowdrops get a lot of attention at this time of year and yet they aren’t the only plants to flower so early.  Winter aconites (eranthis hyemalis) are also one of the first to bloom and not so well known. They are small yellow flowers which seem to stay in bud for quite a long time and nestle in their pretty leaves. I love both these little harbingers of spring they just give me so much hope.

The hellebores are starting to flower as well.  At the time of writing only the green, small flowered ones are out but the larger, showier ones won’t be far behind.  You really need to get down and lift the heads of these pretty plants to see the full beauty of them.  I think I mentioned the witch hazels last time I wrote, but they are fully out in all their glory now. The different varieties that they have at the National Botanic Garden of Wales give us colours from acid yellow through to a lovely rich orange.  I seem to remember as a teenager, many moons ago now, making an astringent for the skin from witch hazel and rose water (bought from the chemist) – I can’t remember if it worked.  Be that as it may, I think the cornuses deserve a mention here.  They have braved the winter with their lime green, orange and deep crimson stems and give a splash of colour that you can see from quite a long way off.

It occurred to me that what a lot of these early plants have in common is that they are poisonous.  Although healing compounds are made from them, we shouldn’t think that we can just take a handful and eat it, because we can’t – would you really want to anyway.  I know that there are lot’s of plants that bloom later that are poisonous as well – foxgloves and the nightshades being the most obvious.  I suppose that’s why dosage in drugs is so important. 

Anyway, enough of that.  The days are getting longer – as I predicted it is still light at 5 o’clock – and I for one feel a sense of spring in the air.  Yes, you’re right; we’ve a long way to go yet but let’s look on the bright side shall we?

Pam Murden – Garden Volunteer