Gold and white are the colours of Easter in all our churches and these are the colours that are filling my garden now. As I wander round I see that the pussy willows with their egg-shaped catkins are dusted with golden pollen whilst pear tree blossom, as fragile as a bubble, floats up towards the blue of the sky and a white froth of amelanchier blossom bursts out between the birches. They remind me that these are also the colours of rebirth and of spring itself.

Beneath the birches and through the orchard daffodils toss their heads in the boisterous wind. Here are clumps of the old double variety ‘Van Sion’ on short, sturdy stems in contrast to the ethereal ‘White Lady’ with paper-thin petals surrounding a small, lemon cup on a slim stem that dips in exaggerated curtseys at the bidding of the wind which, on this not yet Easter day, has turned into a bully.

Every bank and grassy glade has its fat cushions of our native primrose but there is another native in primrose yellow. This is the oxlip pictured here and although it bears its flowers on a single stalk much like a cowslip, you would never confuse the two. Cowslips possess smaller petalled flowers in a bold, chrome yellow whereas the oxlip wears its primrose petalled flowers to one side like a shy girl hiding behind her long hair.

All three natives are very well worth growing although they will promiscuously cross one with the other helped by industrious bees. I do possess a ‘false ox-lip’ for my bees have been busy producing a flower with altogether larger flowers on a single stem. The true oxlip is unmistakeable although it wasn’t classed as a species in its own right until 1842 when the botanist, Henry Doubleday finally concluded that it had nothing to do with the indiscriminate crosses between cowslips and primroses. He sent some oxlip seed and his findings to Darwin and the great man agreed so the oxlip was officially recognised and given the Latin name of Primula elatior.

Oxlips are only found in the far eastern counties of Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire but John Shipton of Shipton Bulbs in South Wales still supplies them so you can do as I did and go to www.shiptonbulbs.co.uk to make these precious plants your own. Bulbs, especially native bulbs and historic daffodils are his specialty but you will also find some choice wildflowers including marsh marigold, the lovely kingcup that lights up my pondside with its golden flowers.

I admit that I do love small treasures in my garden as do we all, but Tony Harvey of Oak Cottage in Welshpool has something of a passion for tiny, yet brilliant flowers. On Easter Monday you can go along and see this plantsman’s small garden with its alpine house filled with treasure of the most covetable kind. Tony is opening the garden between 2 – 5 on behalf of the ngs which means, as we all know that tea and cake will also be on hand. If you can’t make it then the garden is also open on 24th April and 2nd May. Happy Easter!