Yes, Spring is here and we have flowers to prove it!

Blog and photography by Peter Baird.

Following our last blog about the turbulent weather conditions we have already experienced this Spring, we noticed that our plants in The Turrill Sculpture Garden are blossoming a lot earlier than usual! This means that we can all enjoy their beauty over the Easter period to coincide with a spell of milder temperatures, so please take time out to visit the Garden and take-in the glorious sights and smells that await you while the cherry and bluebells are doing their thing!

Of course, earlier flowering is not a particularly good thing. Scientists have concluded that plants in the UK are flowering, on average, 26 days earlier than they did 35 years ago (royalsocietypublishing.org) Alarmingly, this could lead to ecological mismatch, the potential interruption of life-cycle events , like breeding or migration, brought on by components of interdependent wildlife systems being out of sync. But put such thoughts aside for the next few days at least! The flowers in The Turrill attract insects, which attract birds, so early flowering can also bring an influx of birds that have been hiding away or have migrated over the winter. Robins are a popular visitor to the garden all year round, and can be one of the earliest to join the dawn chorus, but you may also be lucky enough to spot or hear wrens, song thrushes, chaffinches, blue tits or coal tits as the males search for a mate, before feverishly building their nests.

Spring is a glorious season, so lighten your heart, brighten your spirit and enjoy the anticipation of warmer days ahead, that a garden, bursting into life can bring! The Turrill Sculpture Garden is now in one of its most colourful and joyous states and we would be delighted if you could see it for yourself! Just see how that sculpture looks surrounded by blossom.