RHS backs Day of Reflection to remember those who died during pandemic year

We are supporting the National Day of Reflection, calling on everyone to come together and reflect on the nation’s collective loss in the last year.

Since the first national lockdown on 23 March 2020, hundreds of thousands of people have died. Whatever the cause, every death has been devastating for the people left behind and many have been unable to properly say goodbye to loved ones, comfort or even hug each other.

1. Add little spring flowers to your garden now - they are inexpensive but cheerful.
2. Think long term. Some of the best spring plants are shrubs such as Jasminum nudiflorum, Mahonia aquifolium and of course forsythia are notably yellow flowered, which will provide cheerful spring colour for years to come.
3. Blue is a restful, soothing colour and goes well together with yellow. Add little blue grape hyacinths, Anemone blanda and scillas which you can buy either potted now or as dry
   These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes.

   bulbs in autumn. Evergreen ceanothus are arguably the best spring blues.
4. Shady spots under
   Deciduous refers to plants (mainly trees and shrubs) that lose their leaves seasonally, usually during autumn. This is a natural process triggered by the season's shorter days and lower temperatures and allows plants to conserve energy during the winter months.

   deciduous trees are classic spring planting spots for plants that do their growing before the trees leaf out – lovely examples include epimediums, hellebores,
   The flow of sap, usually from a wound or pruning cut on woody plants. Certain plants are more prone to bleeding, including grapevines, acers and birches, so these are best pruned while dormant.
   
   Sap (which may be discoloured, depending on the cause) bleeding from the bark of trees and shrubs can sometimes be a symptom of disease (e.g. bleeding cankers, acute oak decline), insect infestation (e.g. some wood-boring beetles), woodpecker damage, or adverse growing conditions (e.g. severe drought)

   bleeding heart and pulmonaria.
5. Consider camellias for containers, patio or balcony gardens – these evergreen shrubs flower freely in spring and their rich glossy green leaves are attractive for the rest of the year.

 
Guy’s top yellow spring flowers you can plant now to brighten up gardens and neighbourhoods:

• Primroses – can persist for many years even in shady borders
• Cowslips – can establish themselves in rough grass or in borders
• Pansies – cheerful pansies are ideal for borders or in containers for patios
• Violas – smaller versions of pansies, these are especially charming in balcony tubs and window boxes
• Daffodils – buy potted ones to plant out, they will come back year after year in garden borders
• Look out for potted tulips from April – these come in rich shades including some delightful yellows, ‘West Point’ and ‘Golden Apeldoorn’ are classics of their kind