Darling Buds of...March

By the time we'd finished the tug of war with the ivy, the cloudy skies were starting to clear and a lovely spring sky appeared complete with some sunshine.  We wandered around the garden searching for signs of life.  Most of the beds are covered in ivy.  Long bramble branches hang over the walls and stretch out on to the moss lawn.  But here and there are signs of cultivation.  We have two or three little clumps of snowdrops, one on a sort of rockery near the gate and one near Cuffer's grave.  They open out in the sunshine but this clump was in shade at this point.

There are a few of these too.  Are they primroses or are they cowslips?  They seem too short to be cowslips but the flower doesn't look quite right as a primrose.  Must head off to Google to work it out.

I also came across this single yellow flower.  Forsythia, I think.  Will there be more than one?  Will it be able to burst out through the ivy and brambles to bring some sunshine into this cold, over-cast weather?

And I've been watching this one with keen anticipation for the past few weeks.  I know it as Soldier's Buttons, which does get a result on Google, but the RHS website calls it Kerria Japonica Pleniflora, aka Bachelor's buttons, Japanese Rose or Jew's Mallow.  It's almost there and will be worth a photograph when it finally bursts out.  The actual plant is about six foot back from this branch so it's going to be an interesting pruning job.  Perhaps not one for Agent Orange (aka S).

There is lots of this growing round by the gate and at the back door - the west facing back door, that is, not the south or north ones!

I'm so hoping for bluebells but not sure yet.

As we wandered back round to the gin terrace, the sun broke through, casting a beautiful light on the stone of the Church and the side of the house.  Suddenly the whole place glowed.  The cold grey stone took on a honey blush and the terracotta of the bricks burnt orange.

Could it be spring at last?