Where Flowers Bloom...

At this time of year, it can feel as if winter has been going on forever. So, as the long-awaited spring finally makes its tentative appearance in March, we want to take you on a virtual tour of some of the top spots for seeing and buying spring plants and flowers in Suffolk.

One of the finest displays of daffodils in the county, must surely be at the 200 acre Nowton Park just outside of Bury St Edmunds.

Landscaped in typical Victorian style, the family-friendly park has over 100,000 daffodils, providing a cheery sight to herald the start of spring.

The Place for Plants in the heart of the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an arboretum and garden with a wonderful selection of spring-flowering shrubs and trees.

There are magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias as well as spring bulbs and topiary, and the plant centre in the Victorian walled garden is well stocked with over 600 different plants and trees.

The park at Ickworth House comes to life in the spring with carpets of daffodils and tulips, and there is the added bonus of newborn lambs to coo over too.

The park is open all year round and the house is open for the main season from Saturday, 4th March.

Spring flowers are something of a speciality at Kentwell Hall. Following the snowdrops are displays of daffodils which usually last throughout March and into April.

After that come primroses, cowslips, oxslips, bugle, violets and forget-me-nots and in May, the woodlands on the estate have colourful drifts of bluebells.

Locally grown flowers such as anemones, tulips, ranunculus, Icelandic poppies, euphorbia oblongata and cornus will be available from the farm's flower barn and from the monthly farmers' market in Lavenham.

Grown on the Suffolk Flower Farm near Bury St Edmunds, these lovely spring blooms will be on sale from 22nd April.

Open from 26th March for the main season, Wyken Hall has drifts of narcissi and fritillaries in the meadows with tulips and blossom following soon after.

As well as a formal garden, Wyken Hall also has a seven acre vineyard and ancient woodland to explore.

This beautiful Grade I listed garden opens in May with colourful displays in the spring borders. There is a knot garden, a classic parterre in front of the moated Helmingham Hall and the walled, kitchen garden has herbaceous borders, vegetables and in the late spring, early summer, tunnels of fragrant sweet peas.

On 28th of May is the annual spring plant fair with specialist nurseries for buying unusual plants.

The gardens at Somerleyton are open from 13th April and tulips will make an appearance in the herbaceous border and white garden, and narcissi in the walled garden.

The main spring interest though, is later on when the rhododendrons come out and blossom appears on the trees. The gardens have a fine yew hedge maze too, which was planted in 1846.The route to its centre is over 700 metres – quite a challenge and well worth exploring.

Did you know you can pick your own flowers at this flower farm in the Waveney Valley? Don a pair of wellies and have a rummage among the flower beds to create the perfect bouquet to take home with you.

In May there will be sweet William, anemone, ranunculus, sweet peas and irises. Opening times vary, so do check the website before your visit.