GINA PARKINSON finds her garden has changed after two weeks away. In particular, her dicentra spectabillis has raced away. This popular spring plant is good value in any garden.

DAMP weather, longer daylight and milder temperatures have had their impact on the garden. Plants are bounding into growth with pulmonaria, primulas, violas and euphorbias filling beds and borders with new, fresh colour.

This movement has been more apparent for me this year because we were away for two weeks during Easter - the first long holiday we have had at this time of year.

On our return, I was shocked to see how much the garden had changed and the amount of growth certain plants had managed to put on.

Dicentra spectabills is a popular spring plant - ours was a few short stems when we left York. We have come back to a long-stemmed plant in full bloom well able to hide the stumpy, pruned branches of the nearby red dogwood.

Red and white heart-shaped flowers dangle from the upper part of the shoots, while ferny foliage grows further down.

This strong growing species is generally reliable, preferring partial shade and well-drained soil that doesn't get too dry in summer. Its only downside is that it dies back in mid-summer so needs to be grown with later flowering plants that can fill the gap left behind.

Dicentra Formosa is a smaller growing and less immediately spectacular species. The ferny leaves are more delicate and the heart-shaped blooms, smaller and dusty pink.

However, it fills its space quickly with a mound of leaves and flowers appearing in April and lasting until late in the summer.

'Bacchanal' is an attractive variety with slightly darker foliage and lovely, deep red flowers. It is a little less vigorous than the species, but it is still worthy of a place in the spring garden where the rich colour makes a refreshing change from lime green and yellow so often seen at this time of year.

In the dry shade under a holly tree I grow variegated honesty, an excellent plant for such inhospitable places. The leaves are splashed with bright white which matches the pure colour of the blooms. Grown en-masse they make a splash of light in a dull corner.

Honesty or Lunaria is a hardy biennial with flowers in spring and early summer. These are followed by flat seed heads which can be harvested and used in indoor dried flower arrangements. An established clump will self-seed - make sure the seeds have dropped before taking the seed heads indoors.

Weekend catch-up

CHECK seeds sown in March and pot up individually if the seedlings are large enough. Water and label and keep indoors or in a greenhouse if this is where they have been growing. Tender species can be gradually hardened off in May and planted out in early June when the last frosts have passed.

Updated: 08:43 Saturday, April 24, 2004