More treasures

Finding a few early blossoms in the garden is so heartening, so I almost did a little skip this morning.  The flowers that are blooming today are different to the ones I discussed the other day.
 
                                             
Three snowdrops ( Galanthus nivalis) have pushed brave little heads above the parapet of nettles. The earliest I have had them, here.


                                                
 The Wintersweet (Chimonanthus preacox ) has really got into it's stride. I am really pleased with this, as it has only been in that bed for about twenty months. They are notoriously difficult to get going. This one had been in a pot for four years, however, so I think it was do or die!

 

 I was more than a little surprised to find this hellebore ( Helleborus niger ) in flower. 

Commonly called the Christmas Rose, it is more usually in flower at Easter. I had put six plants in a trough of very gritty compost, in autumn 2013, to have on the step by the back door. They sulked about, and only showed a couple of blooms. I moved the trough down by the greenhouse and forgot about it. I should have remembered, they don't like being moved or fiddled with. Now settled in, there are already several flowers, with buds beginning to show on all the plants.
There are also a couple of flowers on a Borage plant, at the back of the herb bed, quite a number of tiny white flowers on a plant that I can't identify (yet - I did plant it, so I must have a label somewhere! ) and the bud of bulbous plant, which is probably an Iris reticulata.