One glorious early spring day in the wild garden at Doddington Hall

Doddington Hall is a beautiful Elizabethan stately home in rural Lincolnshire with lovely grounds. There is a fabulous display of irises when in season but it is the astonishingly dense planting of bulbs within the wild garden that I find most thrilling. Later in Spring other bulbs proliferate but that is for another post, today's visit is 25th February 2012.

The twisted sweet chestnut trees are awash with bulbs, snowdrops, crocuses, aconites and daffodils, to be followed by dogtooth daisies later in the season.

A naturalised profusion of Crocus tommasinianus, aconite, snowdrop and cyclamen coum. 

Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Viewed from above the crocus is a jewel in the grass.

Crocus and snowdrops make a huge impression.

There is a density of planting that truly distinguishes the grounds of this Elizabethan stately home.

Where angels fear to tread for fear of trampling the countless bulbs.