March in the Lodge Gardens
March is daffodil month! The lodge grounds have spectacular displays where the ELC Amenity team have planted hundreds of bulbs over the years. If you enter from the law road entrance (opposite the community centre) you will see drifts of bright yellow flowers everywhere you look.
The daffodils come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from large yellow trumpets of Dutch Master and Golden Ducat to smaller varieties, notably Jetfire with little orange cups and the all yellow February Gold with swept back petals. Later in the month the translucent white petals of the triandrus Thalia variety appear, while later still, look out for the bright orange centres of the poeticus Pheasant Eye types, and the curious shaggy petals of the dwarf, drooping Rip Van Winkle.
They are so vibrant they have their own page.
Following the main path towards the swing park and you will pass the wilder section of the Lodge with a woodland path through the trees and more daffodils. If you are lucky, you might hear the Great Spotted woodpecker drumming on a tree or catch a glimpse of its black and white plumage as it works its way round the trunk. The first chiffchaffs, newly arrived from Mediterranean wintering grounds, will literally be singing their name. Past the daffodil demonstration bed to the East of the stone wall with different varieties representing the 13 different divisions of daffodils.
By the end of the month, the rockery is awash with small bright blue flowers. The dark blue is Scilla siberica (squill), blue with white centres is Chionodoxa (glory of the snow). A pale blue and white flower will be Puschkinia libanotica (misleadingly called the Russian snowdrop). Later, Muscari (grape hyacinths) will add even more blue which makes a fine contrast with the pale yellow of the native primroses that have self-seeded into the compartments.