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name of glory of the snow, this bulb comes into flower early. In Devon I've seen it pushing its bright blue, white-centred stars up through snow in a little cultivated wood. It spreads every year and forms a glorious blue carpet beneath the trees

).But I digress: back to blossom. The purpose of blossom (as I'm sure you know) is to attract pollinators and therefore to produce fruit. However, it's also very lovely in its own right. Not all of the trees are yet in flower, but at the moment we can

. This is a very vigorous climber, better known as Russian vine or mile-a-minute. Only the very brave will plant this in a small garden as, although it's undoubtedly attractive and flowers for a long time, it has an unquenchable curiosity. Many years ago I

It’s life and death out there on the ivy at the moment. The far corner of our garden is a sheltered sun-trap, and the fence is now smothered in ivy flowers. The air is thick with the heavy scent of the blossoms, and the lazy buzzing of insects

. I adore its natural-looking, delicate flowers. They appear to dance and flutter in the breeze like little white butterflies. The half-hardy perennials from the Fast Flowers collection, including nicotiana, clarkia and antirrhinum, all appreciate a

Chrysanthemum 'Bright Eyes', boasting golden discs with a black centre, perfect for cut flowers. I love cosmos, and Johnsons's new 'Peppermint Rock' produces white flowers with pink picotee edges on tall stems. Glorious.That beautiful striped squash in Dobies

and the singed toffee-coloured flowers are so subtle that they seem to only whisper (but such seductive words that the heart melts).Phlox 'Blue Paradise': I think these are the very best of the family. A sort of washed denim colour that changes with the light

). Mostly because I'm a bit short of space for any more plants but also because of laziness. I am beginning to see the error of my ways ... I want more. Not so much the petunias or busy Lizzies (even though white ones are a very effective way of making a

days, stretches of perfect white sand, bobbing seals, heathery hills, shining blue lobsters and lichened rocks. But, even though to the casual observer it may have seemed that I was lolling around all week doing very little, I have been diligent in my

, but I'll leave them on display for as long as possible.I've combined mine with a compact gaultheria with pure white berries, snipping away its green shoots to neaten up the display. All these plants are quite cheap to buy, so could be discarded