Thankfully our part of the UK came out relatively unscathed as Storm Hannah bore down on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 82mph and leaving homes without power. It was very wet and very windy but not half as bad as those in the West. I guess the Pennines protected us somewhat.
Rather than spending any time in the garden on Saturday, we visited a garden centre and bought yet another tree! It's being delivered next week, so I'll tell all then.
Sunday is calm and bright with a gentle breeze. A good day to work in the garden.
First up, the Pittosporum tenufolium Variegatum we bought over the bank holiday. This looks like an odd place to plant a shrub as it's beside the steps and the first compost bin. The method in my madness is simple. When sitting in our almost finished Mugwort's Retreat, the view ain't pretty of the workspace with its plastic bins, bags of manure, ericaceous and John Innes no 2. Eventually this will create a screen from the new seats.
The other plant is the hebe Mrs Winder we also bought last week. There had been a lavender on either side of the patio arch but the one in the right hand side was miserable. I've never really had much joy with lavender so I was surprised that the one in the left is still flourishing so beautifully. Therefore the failing lavender has been replaced with the hebe, which also has purple flowers loved by bees.
Other tasks completed today included tying in c. Armandii and the roses either side of the patio arch.
The other rhododendron in the Yen is about to bloom.
And look! A flower is forming on the Wisteria at long last (just the one though). I didn't do any pruning over winter so maybe I was doing it wrong.
Also in the Yen, the storm cut short the blossom display of the cherry and apple trees but clematis Shikoo is opening
Another first is this butterfly. It's a male orange tip as the female doesn't have the distinctive orange tips (excuse the greenfly on this fringed tulip, the predators haven't caught up yet).
At the rear of the Yen pergola, the first aquilegias are beginning to flower. Monty recently did a piece on Gardener's World about how to sow the seeds indoors but I've found no problems getting these plants to germinate simply by scattering the seeds after flowering where you want them to grow. They're very very easy to propagate and pot up any excess for friends and family.
A pink pairing of magnolia George Henry Kern and clematis Montana Rubens creates a nice pop of spring colour in the corner of the Patio Border and the Long Border
The "flowers" of the acer in the front garden are quite prominent as the leaves change colour.
And this year, again I think due to the timing of the pruning, the Photinia is flowering. I don't think I've seen it flower before.
On the right side of the patio border, only 2 pink tulips have flowered.
And only two white ones on the left.
These are new tulips in Mugwort's Retreat.
And new near-black ones in the Terrace Border.
Red and near-black tulips in the front garden have lasted a few years.
At 523 feet above sea level we appear to need to lift and store or annually replace our tulips. The new ones have been planted deeper, as per our Dutch friends, so the experiment continues.
This vivid pink azalea has survived being moved a few times and is happiest in the Long Border.
A pot of self seeders currently on the terrace, I don't have the heart to move them into the garden just yet.
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