“Are you admiring my snowdrops?”

This question was asked in well-modulated tones by a well-preserved well-dressed woman of mature years as I stuck my camera through the railings of the planted area next to some mansion blocks in Victoria.

I was on my way to the RHS Halls to visit the Spring show last Tuesday. I enjoy these London shows very much & of course it is so easy for me to pop onto a District Line train for a quick visit & then pop home again, hopefully with a bag or 2 of some choice goodies. What I also enjoy when I go is walking from the station through an area full of large mansion blocks, probably home to some rather well heeled residents, & admiring the planting in the communal gardens along the road-side, the pots in court-yard areas & planting boxes on window-sills or on the railings.

Now the snowdrops through the fence look nothing compared to the treats at the RHS Show. How could they!

This is the first show of the year & I suspect some people get a little hysterical! Someone kept blocking my view with a, admittedly stylish hat.

But I did manage to drool over the little gem like hepaticas which you can’t help but love with their delicate pastel colourings often with contrasting stamens.

 

Don’t you wish you had a woodland just to fill with these beauties?

Now I wasn’t alone on this early spring jaunt. There was Arabella Sock of course, (these jaunts are becoming a pleasantly regular habit with us, but there was also VP, Victoria who have all written about the show more speedily & descrptively than me, Helen & partner & an all too brief attendance from Simon. Other than Simon who had ‘done it all’ before we arrived, we all made our way to the Jugged Hare for a little sustenance after we had had our fill of things horticultural. And very enjoyable it was  too. I even met a neighbour who had also been to the show; he claimed to have heard my voice! Most odd really as I say very little.