Raise the Spring Temperature
19 January 2004

When I think of spring, yellow comes to mind. Day old chicks, yellow ribbon, daffodils and masses of flowering forsythia. Come to think of it, even the lawn is more yellow than green in spring!

It is not that I have anything against the colour yellow, I even have a yellow tie but I only wear it once in a while. There is just too much around and it lasts for too long a period.

There is no need to get rid of any of it, simply add to the overall canvas with bright red and rich blue. Both mix particularly well with yellow as in red and yellow wallflowers and yellow and blue hyacinths.

Go for masses of long stemmed tulips. Deep crimson, bright read and vibrant scarlet will all give the daffodils a run for their money. Plant plenty as some will undoubtedly be cut for decoration. ( I love it when the blooms turn inside out in the vase). If tulips are planted at least 8 inches deep they may remain in the soil over winter making a good show for many years.

The flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum 'King Edward VII' produces dark red flowers at the same time as the forsythia is in bloom and will tone down the brassy yellow. Don't cut the flower stems to bring indoors as they smell awful. If you find you have too much red there is always the fragrant, yellow flowering Ribes oderatum.

Try this mixed planting for a magnificent spring show. Plant a Clematis alpina 'Pamela Jackman' at the base of the forsythia and allow it to scramble through the branches. The large, rich blue flowers are a delightful contrast to the yellow and are followed by silvery, silky seed heads.

Chaenomeles x superba 'Crimson and Gold' produces deep crimson flowers with golden anthers from late winter until late spring. Planted against a wall it will climb to 5ft high. Fronted with a line of daffodils, one complements the other.

Where daffodils are massed, introduce a specimen Japanese acer. Either Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum' or Acer Palmatum 'Dissectum Atropurpureum' will fill the need nicely. Their opening foliage is deep red-purple making a wonderful backdrop for the spring yellow.

If you find you have too much red, then be sure to plant more daffodils!

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