The Garden Close Up

The Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla Vulgaris) - so named as it normally flowers at Easter. Of course its late this year and the first flowers are only just opening. A lovely thing - the beautiful flower later turns into a very pretty seedhead.
The pansies I put in hanging baskets and pots in the autumn haven't done much over the winter and I did think they had been frosted and would not survive - but these are tough little plants and against all odds (being completely ignored over the last few months) they have started to flower.
A week or so ago I managed to do what I had meant to do in January - I moved my rhubarb plant. It has been sitting in the middle of a patch overrun by alpine strawberries for the past 5 years. I don't want to get rid of the strawberries as they fruit for months on end once they start, cover the ground in pretty foliage and smother out the weeds. I was able to divide the rhubarb into three plants and look - its started to grow already!
Another Easter bloomer is this Lenten Rose (Helleborus Orientalis). It's flowers are absolutely beautiful - but its hard to appreciate them as they hang their heads downwards, so unless you lie flat on the ground you won't see them - not an inviting prospect at this time of year!