Blossom and Ruffles

The early May bank holiday weekend is set to be the hottest on record.  I might be able to encourage TMTC to take me to the garden centre to see what's on offer in the way of summer bedding while I am still recovering from shoulder surgery again.

For now, I will enjoy the beautiful late spring blooms.

The tiny purple nodding heads of clematis Alpina willy, with emerging tight buds of syringa Sensation in the Long Border.

The head is beginning to take shape on the standard Photinia.

Tiny blooms of a mat forming alpine below swelling buds of a white Peony.

Arches of lamprocapnos spectabilis in the shade of acer Crimson King. 

Magnolia George Henry Kern showing some colour, as the bright pink azalea comes to life. 

Completing the scene in the Long Border are the fattening buds of clematis Montana Rubens, after his hard prune last year.

In the Pink Garden, the climbing hydrangea has really filled out.

The ferns are unfurling, the primulas are blooming and the hostas are pushing through sharp purple spears.  Lamprocapnos spectabilis are also beginning to open.

Across the path in the Yen Garden, the Wisteria is opening over the arch and will continue to be trained through the pergola. 

A pink alpine blooms below the beautiful cherry blossom of prunus Kanzan.

Which in turn picks up the apple blossom.

The smoke bush leaves are late to form, however the young shoots of pieris look fabulous against the deep hues of the weeping acer.

Rhododendron Christmas Cheer has finished flowering and careful removal of the spent flowers reveals new leaves forming.  The vivid buds of the other rhododendron however are beginning to open. 

Back up the steps passing this stunning Spireae...

...and to the Terrace Border to take a quick sniff of clematis Armandii.

And the first aquilegias to open.

On the terrace a pot of primulas are blooming lovely.

The final bow of the spring containers with violas and wallflowers the last to leave the stage.

Beside the pond, variegated periwinkle threads it's way through the emerging perennials.

Regular readers will be aware that our lovely friends are soon to move from their beautiful little railwaymen's cottage due to HS2.  On our recent visits, we have been digging up a selection of plants to take to their new garden. With space at a premium now with pots and containers filling every available corner, we have brought home a few plants to take care of until the move is complete.

In the front garden, the main display is of tulips while the ferns unfurl and the various shrubs and perennials emerge.

My lovely sons bought me a Ceanothus Italian Skies for Mother's Day.  This has now replaced a poorly performing philadelphus which has now been rehomed in the in-laws' garden.

Although spring was very late this year, everything seemed to come together in the end.

Christmas post

It's just days until Christmas 2014 and not a flake in the air. In fact yesterday it was 12c at 6am! It is however very windy, and wet. A typically normal British winter.

There isn't a great deal happening in the garden. I have yet to work on my winter interest.

Inside there are two temporary additions to my orchid collection. One of the ladies who works on my corridor had a dying specimen. I should really have taken a photo of the plant before I repotted it.  It appeared to have a baby growing halfway up on of the dead looking stems, with a withering leaf, but this new healthy leaf was forming.

I split the two plants and repotted each into fresh orchid compost.  Now we wait...

Among my own orchids, there are a lot of fresh buds forming.

I've repotted a couple

This white flowering orchid had another 6 new stems so it will be some time before it will be able to be repotted.

Whereas these pink ones will soon be over so will be repotted in the New Year.

This beauty is fattening up to flower.  I forget what colour it is.

And this one has gone over.  The next step will be a new leaf.

Since its Christmas, my indoor flowers have a festive theme.

All that remains is for me to curl up with a hot chocolate and a seed catalogue, and wish you all a very merry Christmas and may 2015 be your year!

Well I never!

I received a surprise email this week from Garden Answers, a magazine I subscribe to, informing me I was about to appear in their 'Over To You' section as their star letter!

Imagine how much more excited I was when the postman delivered my sub this morning!

Thank you Garden Answers!

The Last Hurrah

Despite it being the last days of October, it's still extremely mild. This has its up sides along with its down sides.

An up side is the warm damp soil is still very workable to get in shrubs and bulbs for next year.  It is helping a fair few plants hold on to blooms that wee bit longer before the bite of the first frosts cut them down.

Above the rhododendron flower buds are building strength, while below acer leaves take on their rich colours of autumn.

The stag horn tree is on fire. Better captured with the evening sunlight, but today we're not so lucky.

Pretty much bereft of leaves now, Rosa Tall Story has one last attempt at clinging onto the summer.

Our neighbour has two beautiful acers that drape elegantly over our fence lending their autumnal exuberance to our own.

A down side however is the infestation of aphids feeding on the violas. They don't have enough predators this time of year, and without a cold snap to stop them in their tracks, it means my own fingers can become quite green as I rub them into oblivion - my apologies to the squeamish!

The alpine trough is soon going to need some form of protection. A piece of glass atop a couple of bricks should to the trick.

But for now their swansong continues.

The transplanted cyclamen have settled in and beginning to bloom.

As the fern fronds begin to crisp up.

The last clematis bloom on the arch joins the first bloom of....spring?

And finally the young birch tree sheds it's last remaining leaves. Autumn winds will soon lead to cold icy winter.

And then we'll start all over again.