Big Butts and bare earth.

We increased our water storage this week, and now have 6. 

An additional big butt under the carport, and an additional slim one at the front.

These are already filling up due to the rainfall overnight.

A yet unnamed deep pink clematis above, with paler c. Comtesse de Bouchard below. 

A single bud is about to flower on the other r. Special Anniversary.  Most of the other flowers in the raised beds were given a little trim as the heavy rain over the last 24 hours had spoilt them.  There's still plenty of vigour in the bedding plants. 

The photo above doesn't quite do this hydrangea justice. It's a lovely dark purple. It's a plant my work colleagues bought me a couple of years ago, but I couldn't find the right place for it until now. 

Strangely this honeysuckle appears to have run underground and is flowering on the opposite side of the patio arch, mingling with the yellow scented variety. It's pretty but quite vigorous! 

Our neighbour is having work done. He has moved his shed which was positioned on the other side of ours here, with a conifer hedge between.  On moving his shed it revealed the lower branches had died.  He in the process of removing the dead conifers, which he isn't planning on replacing.  This leaves us with an odd looking gap. 

We shall be patient and see what is decided before we come up with an aesthetically pleasing solution for our side.

In the front garden, the plans are beginning to take shape. All the aquilegias have been removed, along with a couple of self seeded foxgloves and an unsuccessful lavender. 

I decided not to stick exactly to the mirror-flipped design as I didn't think a sambuccus nigra would be right in this bottom corner where it could get bashed about by passers-by and the wind.   Instead I have picked up the dark colour of the sambuccus nigra leaves in this Pittosporum Tenufolium Tom Thumb. The pale green leaves are new foliage, but I'm going to keep it trimmed to show off glossy purple-black leaves. 

We've kept the hibiscus...maybe one day it will perform. 

Along the border in view of the house, a dark leaved hebe has been added. I couldn't find a variety to match, so although the design is still attempting a mirror-flip, I've decided to have similar varieties of the same shrubs.

And finally an Osmanthus burkwoodii.  This is an exact match, and the anchor point to the design as they are almost opposite one another.

The remaining plants for the design will be added in the autumn when we can lift the plants and divide them.

Finally the tree I named Jeff, outside our boundary was in danger of being swamped by bindweed, so TMTC and I ripped out all the weeds, firkled the soil and scattered some seeds of orange Californian poppies, blue Love-in-a-mist and some mixed aquilegias.   We'll keep an eye on it, and next year enjoy a little bit of colour. 

Just spreading a little gardening joy.