UKH

They've been out for a week or three round here but it looks like they're maybe peaking? Don't miss out if you're intending looking.

I've planted loads of snowdrops, crocus, and daffs over the years. Also bluebells and wild garlic. None of them seem to grow, or one out of 50 will pop up. Barstewards, the lot of them. I expect they do it deliberately, just to annoy me.

Bl**dy daffs pop up all over place around us. Plays havoc with my mowing. Thank goodness for no-mow May.

I planted a load of bulbs last autumn, and so far they seem to be doing okay apart from the snowdrops which have been a bit of a failurel. A few poked their shoots above the surface but the dog must have trodden on the growing points as soon as they emerged and I now have one solitary snowdrop flower. Oh well...

{Edit: spot the tautology.]

They are picky little devils. The ones I saw were just along a short stretch of lane and nowhere else. There's a path near Kirkby Lonsdale where I saw thousands of snowdrops last year. They lined it on both sides. It reminded me of a well decorated cave passage but much more ephemeral of course.

I've also tried sowing bluebells from seed gathered from wild bluebells after flowering - result: zilch. During the first lockdown I was chomping on wild garlic leaves collected from the river banks near to home. I collected some bulbs that had washed out and they're now out of control! When they come up and flower I think they spread seeds which get between the cracks of paving stones. I'm constantly uprooting them.

GQT were saying a while back that loads of people plant them too deep and they run out of energy to grow before get out of the ground.

They were spectacular, in a modest way, in the border country around Bewcastle today - there was warmth in the sun and waxwings- feeling very spring like. This on the day I was really hoping to be skiing at Yad Moss in the Penines - sadly the snow never really got going!

Thanks, that makes sense... will make a note for next autumn.

They tempted me out with the decent camera today.  Always a nice moment in the ticking clock of the seasons.

Last time I was that way we'd gone to look at the Roman fort and castle. There was an extremely angry little bull in the field who I thought was going to charge us through the stone wall!

Mrs J's handy work not mine. Four years after moving some from a small patch in another part of the garden. As others have said, she thinks it's important not to plant them too deep and being in a fairly well drained spot underneath the birch tree also helps. 

I've only once planted wild snowdrops, on the margins between woodland and pasture on a small nature reserve. It was a few years ago but I haven't been back at the right time to see if they've gotten established. I might head up there later for a look. Garlic, on the other hand needs no encouragement to get going.

If you want to enjoy the daffs, should you have no mow April 😂???