Tulip Fever & Spring Abundance

April Arrives in a Blaze of Blossom and Colour

The apple and cherry trees are blossoming beautifully, their soft clouds of pink and white drifting above the steady glow of wallflowers below. Now the tulips step forward to take centre stage—bold, theatrical, and utterly irresistible.

It’s not hard to see how Tulipmania swept through 17th-century Holland with such force. These flowers offer an astonishing range of colours, shapes, and markings—from flame-streaked petals to elegant lily forms and ruffled doubles. At the height of the craze, a single rare bulb could fetch the price of a house. Much of the frenzy centred on the elusive “black tulip,” a flower that symbolised rarity, status, and obsession. Even today, that sense of wonder hasn’t quite faded.

Here in the garden, though, it’s the rich reds that steal the show—lighting up the rose bed with a depth and intensity that feels almost luminous in the spring sunshine.

Tulips for Cutting – Growing Your Own Spring Bouquets

This year we’ve planted a host of new tulip varieties, many destined for our cut flower service, which has been steadily supplying bouquets across Thanet. These tulips are already making their way into homes, brightening spaces and marking special occasions—from Mother’s Day celebrations to the Easter gatherings just around the corner.

If you’re tempted to grow tulips for cutting yourself, a few simple tips make all the difference:

Plant deeply (at least 2–3 times the bulb’s height) to encourage strong stems.

Choose cutting varieties like single late or triumph tulips for longer stems.

Harvest early in the morning, when buds are just showing colour but not fully open.

Condition stems in deep water for a few hours before arranging to extend vase life.

Rachel’s planning and care are truly paying off now, with waves of colour coming into their own just as demand picks up.

If you’d like to enjoy these in your own home, you can explore our current cut flower options and seasonal bouquets via the website. We’ll also be running relaxed, hands-on flower arranging workshops led by an experienced florist here in the garden in June, July and August—perfect for learning how to make the most of what’s in season.

What’s Growing Behind the Scenes

Beyond the tulips, there’s a quiet surge of growth underway. In the small polytunnel, rows of anemones and ranunculi—both members of the buttercup family, with their silky, layered blooms—are building towards their moment, while outside, autumn-sown perennial beds are beginning to clump up and establish.

Later in the summer, these will provide a rich palette for cutting, including:

• Achillea for soft, flattened umbels

• Scabious for delicate pincushion flowers

• Ammi and dill for airy structure

• Echinops for bold, architectural spheres

• Stachys, catananche, and cornflowers for texture and colour

These plants reward patience—strong root systems now mean abundant flowers later.

Plant of the Week – Take a Piece of the Garden Home

If you’re feeling inspired to get planting, keep an eye on our Plant of the Week, available for collection during the week and featured on Instagram.

So far, we’ve offered:

• Cheerful pots of daffodils

• Elegant tall white scabious

• Striking yellow and purple irises

It’s a lovely way to bring a little of the Garden Gate Project into your own space—and there’s plenty more to come.

Keeping the Bullies in Check

Spring isn’t just about planting—it’s also about staying on top of the garden’s more enthusiastic residents.

We recently held an “Alexander Day,” clearing swathes of this vigorous self-seeder before it takes hold. Next on the list are:

• Ground elder – persistent and spreading rapidly underground

• Three-cornered leek (above) – pretty, but quick to dominate if left unchecked

The key with all three is persistence: remove roots wherever possible and don’t let them set seed.

In the Vegetable Beds – Early Crops Underway

April is a busy time in the veg beds. We’re planting out onions and kohl rabi, both reliable and rewarding crops.

• Onions planted now should be ready from mid to late summer, perfect for storing or using fresh.

• Kohlrabi is a quick grower, often ready in 8–10 weeks. Harvest when the swollen stem is tennis-ball sized—any larger and it can become woody. It’s delicious sliced raw in salads or lightly sautéed.

Learning, Sharing, and Community

We’ve welcomed several more local school groups recently, introducing children to greenhouse growing and sowing tomato seeds with them—a small but satisfying way to spark curiosity and connection with food.

We’re also looking forward to hosting a group of local NHS community nurses for a relaxed pizza afternoon in the garden. A big thank you to holidaycottages.co.uk for our new pizza dough mixer—it’s already proving its worth!

Rachel will be out and about too, giving talks to the Trefoil Guild and U3A (The University of the Third Age), while we prepare to welcome Naturehood Thanet, a local initiative focused on connecting people with nature and wildlife-friendly gardening.

Easter in the Garden

Our members have been celebrating Easter in style, with an egg hunt weaving through the garden—beautifully decorated eggs by the Art Cabin team hidden among the beds, ready to be exchanged for chocolate treats.

There’s also plenty of creativity on display, with Easter plates decorated with patterns, illustrations, and messages—perfect as seasonal gifts.

Looking Ahead – Spring Open Day & Summer Music

We’re now turning our attention to our Spring Open Day from 1-4 pm on Saturday 9th May, when the garden will be full of plants ready for sale, alongside gifts, woodfired pizzas, teas, and cakes.

Tickets for our annual Music Day on Saturday 18th July will also be available from then on—always a popular highlight of the summer.

Come and Enjoy It All

We look forward to welcoming you soon. The garden is full—of colour, of flavour, of life—and there’s something new to see at every turn.

You can also find details of our flowers, workshops, and upcoming events on the website at https://www.thegardengateproject.co.uk/ and see how to get involved in all that’s happening here at the Garden Gate Project.

In the meantime, happy gardening!