I want to savour every second of my garden right now

What a gorgeous spring week!

Everything seems to have sped up.

There are more flowers in the garden every day, the herbaceous perennials which were barely out of the ground a few weeks ago are now lovely green mounds, and most trees are in leaf.

Unbelievably, we are only two months away from midsummer!

RHS Sandringham plants just unpacked (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening)

This is the time of year when I wish we could press a slow-motion button.

I want to savour every second of the garden right now, and I am, even though I am also aware of the long list of jobs which need doing before it is too late.

We have been watering pots and newly planted shrubs and perennials this week.

The ground has dried out so quickly, and although we certainly aren’t in the same position as last year, when there had been no rain for seven or eight weeks, the water butts are definitely low and there is no rain in the forecast.

RHS Sandringham plants after 3 weeks (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening)

We are now in the midst of planning for the RHS Sandringham Flower Show.

The RHS have asked us to do the bench planters which will be positioned around the showground, and the planting has been designed by Norfolk designer and one of our tutors, Sam Outing.

We ordered the plants from Norfolk wholesaler, Howard Nurseries and they arrived a couple of weeks ago in 9cm pots.

We need them to fill out a lot before mid-July so we have planned a regime of feeding, watering, cutting back (in some cases) and potting on over the next three months.

As you can see, they have already grown a lot since they arrived, and the first plants have been moved to bigger pots.

We just need to protect them well from the hungry rabbits and deer!

We had the first day of the latest Border Design course this week.

This is a two-day course taught by Sam Outing and is always a really inspiring way to learn the basics of garden design in order to apply them in your own garden.

Border Design with Sam Outing (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening)

We share many resources used by professional designers and which can speed up the decision-making process, especially when trying to select the right plants for a particular situation.

The next course is in the autumn, so let us know if you would like to book a place.

The summer term Certificate in Practical Horticulture started this week and is our biggest course yet.

As ever, we have students from a wide range of backgrounds, some keen amateurs, some new to gardening and some professional gardeners wanting to gain a qualification.

It will be great to see them learn and develop lots of new skills over the next ten weeks.

There are some excellent courses coming up which still have spaces.

Let us know if you’d like to join one of these:

· Basic Bricklaying – 30th April

· Gardening Under Glass – 6th May

· Advanced Practical Gardening – 7th May

· Sustainable Cutting Garden – 3rd June

Cornus kousa var chinensis (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening)

Plant of the Week

Cornus kousa var. chinensis ‘China Girl’ is a beautiful small deciduous tree, native to East Asia and grown for its elegant form and long season of interest.

In late spring to early summer, it produces showy creamy-white bracts surrounding small green flowers, followed by distinctive, strawberry-like red fruits in late summer.

The foliage turns rich shades of red and purple in autumn before falling.

Reaching around 4–6 metres, it is ideal as a specimen tree in lawns or borders.

Grow in full sun or light shade in moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil.

Low-maintenance, it benefits from minimal pruning, mainly to remove dead or crossing branches.