Forsythia Week

Already we are seeing that no two years are alike. A year ago, Forsythia was first to flower, showing sprays of yellow at this time, to be followed a week later by Pieris x 'Red Mill' and the week after that by Narcissus. Now the order seems to be reversed: the first daffodils are flowering at the start of week 2009/14, and Pieris is shyly coming into blossom with its white flowers, while Forsythia is still holding back. This hybrid Pieris a remarkably forgiving plant. The species normally requires an acidic, peaty soil, but Red Mill copes well with our neutral, sandy soils. I rashly bought Pieris floribunda a year ago, placed it in a dry raised bed and nursed it through its first summer with copious watering, but the winter quickly killed it. When I tore the carcass out, the sand below it was as dry as the dunes at a sunny beach. The early appearance this week of the daffodils - whole drifts of them are merrily in flower by the Saturday - suggests that the soil may perhaps have been warmer in the late phase of this past winter than it was a year ago. Ribes sanguineum 'Atrorubens' is playing a waiting game in this week.