The latest Evening Post gardening column by Joseph Atkin

The latest South Wales Evening Post gardening column by Aberglasney's head gardener Joseph Atkin - 

Spring is upon us nice and early and we have even been blessed with a few breaks in the rain and some sunshine.

Despite the cold nights we are having some great gardening weather even if the ground is still very wet.

One of the great things about gardening in the spring is presence of the early flowering plants reminding us why we do it.

At Aberglasney the snowdrops, Hellebores and Crocus have and are putting on a great show.

Looking round the garden today buds could even be seen on the Tulips and many of the earlier flowering Narcissus (Daffodil) have started.
Last autumn we planted more than 100 different varieties of Narcissus amounting to more than 10,000 bulbs.

One of the most interesting parts of growing a variety of the same plant is you see all its different shapes and guises as well as benefiting from a greater length of flowering.

Amazingly we have had Narcissus in flower constantly in the garden from November until now.

This is partly due to the mild winter but more related to the different varieties. The majority of these varieties are only just coming into flower so the best is yet to come.
With literally hundreds to choose from in every shade of white through to yellow with greens pinks and oranges being less common but still available the only drawback is which one to choose.

This year there have been some really good early varieties that are going strong at the moment. A new variety we have tried is St Patrick's Day which has been in flower since late February and looks really good.

It has two tone pale yellow flowers that really stand out in the poor light that we get at the moment.

It stands up to the wind and the rain really well. Like many of the early flowering types it is quite short only growing to about 30 or 40 centimetres and has the added advantage of dying back a little earlier in the season.
An old favourite and very common variety Tete a tete is also really flowering well at the moment.

Although many of us know this variety there are many imposters but the true form has multiple flowers on each stem.

It is only 15 centimetres tall and is excellent for baskets or in borders.

At Aberglasney we have a large border of Tete a tete planted with a late flowering perennial that disguises the old leaves.
A really good early variety is Rijnfelds Early Sensation another short variety that is good for cutting and has really strong stems.

This year it was one of the earliest to come into flower and does well in rough grass.

Again it has the advantage of dying back a little earlier reducing the amount of dead leaves on show. If possible Narcissus leaves should be left to die back naturally cutting back while they are green weakens the bulb for the following year.

Another favourite is Lemon silk which looks really good at the moment.

Having planted so many bulbs this year one very noticeable fact is the newly planted varieties flower much later than established clumps.

Those on south facing slopes are also much earlier to flower as expected.

If you do have a passion for Narcissus it’s important to remember that they grow fine a rough grass and make excellent plants for grass verges or hedgerows. They will quite happily be strimmed or mown down when the leaves have died down and require very little care other than dead heading.

If you do have some time and like propagating collecting seeds and growing them yourself can be good fun as you will have your own personal variety.

Late summer and early autumn is the best time to buy Narcissus which are freely available. For more unusual types specialist bulb catalogues can be very helpful.
Tips for the Week
· Keep the protection on tender perennials there is still a chance of frost
· Early vegetables can be hardened off during the day
· Warm the soil before planting
· Keep weeding as they love this sun shine and showers
· Prepare pea and bean stakes ready for use
· Pot up Dahlia and other tender perennials
· Sow tomato seeds a little heat really helps