After such a long and very dull winter and a slow start to the spring I see in the park that leaves, blossom and early blooms are bursting into life.
Perhaps the most graceful example of a tree in the first green of spring is the willow. And, in Holywells Park this beauty grows in the middle of one of the ponds, with the drama of drooping, feathery greenery enhanced by the still water.
Holywells Park also has a couple of old magnolias now putting on their annual outrageous blast of sugary pink.
Of course any park worth its salt has an ornamental cherry or two, but the only one in blossom when I visited was this semi-double white cherry.
For the handful of folk who have not noticed this has been a very dry spring particularly here in East Anglia, and, the park’s dry garden looked suitably resilient. The daffodil display was just coming to an end as the first green spikes of the ornamental grasses pushed up through last year’s neatly pruned brown clumps .
One of the aspects of Holywells Park that I appreciate is that it isn’t a particularly ordered or a heavily maintained park. There are areas of light-touch maintenance where primroses peek out from under the hedges and
weeds/wildflowers such as red campion and nettle are left to thrive in a naturalistic manner not least to the benefit of the wildlife, and a human with a camera.
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Agnes Ashe 
What a splendid park, sounds a perfect place to visit. Thanks for all your excellent photographs, such a pleasure to scroll through.
Thank you. It was much busier than you can tell from the photographs.
You do seem to do parks rather well in Ipswich. Although having spent the morning in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens, I’m feeling well disposed towards English parks at the moment.
Oh yes, how lovely and I agree we should all be well disposed towards them and celebrate them more. In urban areas they have been a lifeline during the lockdowns for those living without access to a balcony let alone their own garden.
Glorious magnolia!
It is isn’t it and looks pretty old too.
Endurance!
What a lovely stroll you have taken us on this morning. So pretty for me to wake to as we begin to slide into our cooler months.
Ah thank you. It might look pretty, but it was rather chilly with a wind from the Arctic and it did not feel like spring one bit.
One day you’ll be able to come visit us on our mild eastern beach coast. You may even melt in what we refer to as spring, which is only known by the months in which it occurs.
Yes, I did wonder how much seasonal change you have. You certainly appear to have a long, long summer.
It wasn’t much this year to be honest. I felt sorry for the kids on their six week school holiday. They would have been saying – ‘what the heck?’
We’ve just turned the gas heater on for an hour or two in the evening, but still getting by with one blanket on the bed, usually tossed off half way through the night.
Off to Cairns in the middle of May. That should be something between 20 and 25’c but let’s see. They have also had extremely hard rainfall lately.
Lucky you – enjoy your trip to Cairns and the heat. My sister has booked a cottage up on the North East coast for this summer and is not expecting any heat just hoping that it will be dry. My father can’t travel those distances these days and I can’t leave him for a week so it is another staycation for me, but I wouldn’t be boarding a plane this year even if I could. I am a wimp.
It’s only a three hour hop, but I do feel very brave. Can’t remember the last time I was on a plane but it was well before COVID. Bill has had his first jab but I’m not eligible yet. Too young! LOL.
Well, your Covid rates are so low now that I guess it’s almost like normal and flying will be a breeze. Enjoy yourselves.
Lovely spring images! I so enjoy the willow trees with their early chartreuse shades – simply beautiful. How nice that this park has been allowed to indulge its natural growth inclinations.
Thank you. Those fresh greens emphatically declare spring don’t they? It’s not just our parks that are working hard to welcome wildlife, our local council is also encouraging wildflower roundabouts and verges.