Bursting with potential

I keep thinking that Spring is just round the corner. We have had a couple of spells of milder weather; a few really bright sunny days with blue skies. But then it reverts to Winter again - like the last few days, when it has been very cold once more. The poor old plants don't really know what to do. I have had buds on my Daffodils for nearly 6 weeks now, but they are mostly still firmly closed.
The Buddleia is covered in new shoots. This year I am going to try to persuade it to grow a little more upright. Last year the long branches made it top-heavy and the shrub is very lop-sided. It may need staking.

The prunings that I pushed into the soil around the parent plant look as if they have probably rooted.

There is also plenty of new growth on my white Rose bush. If only it would stay looking this fresh and healthy! It suffers every year from Black Spot. The leaves all fall off and the bush has to start all over again. Despite that I usually get a very fine display of flowers.

In this next photo you can see the first of my Snakeshead Fritillaries poking through the soil. They have been in there for about 18 months, (I planted them in Autumn 2011) and I'm hoping that having had some time to settle in they may be a bit stronger this year - and maybe they will have spread a bit. We'll soon see...

The ferns are gathering their strength too. I recently cut back all of last year's growth, which had been sheltering the plants over the Winter, to make room for new fronds.

Each one of these hairy bumps will in due course unfurl as a new leaf, and it looks as if there will be plenty this year.

The fruit trees are also showing signs of life. This is a bud on the "Conference" pear tree.

Last year I worked hard on pruning my tree (which is grown as a Minarette - very slim) correctly, so I'm hoping that it will do well this year. I absolutely love pears, and being able to have some from your own garden is especially rewarding.

What I really want though is to be able to sow seeds. I know it is not worth doing so just yet - they would almost certainly end up being leggy and weak. It's better to wait, I know. Seeds sown later, when the conditions are better, almost always go on to perform better than the early-sown ones. They soon catch up and often overtake the early ones. Patience, that's the name of the game...