The Passion of Purple

At a glance, my herbacious border in the front is a mass of purple. Varying shades of purple, but purple non the less. I shouldn't complain, at least it's not all green.

But a closer look reveals small pockets of other colours, the white of the Digitallis, tinged with the palest of pink.

Strangely, some of the first flowers to open on one of the Digitallis spires appears to have been partially eaten. Of course the initial thought is snail or slug, but in the absence of any slimy trails or damaged foliage, I have to rethink. I have heard tales of bees chewing into the side of the forming bells to gain access to the nectar within, so I can only assume this is what has happened here.

I have a bit of a thing for Hardy Geraniums, I admit. I find them a good do'er. They fill out spaces cheaply and flower over quite a long period if you can get hold of a few varieties. They're not fussy about soil conditions, Don't mind a shady corner, and in the ten or more years I've grown them, I've never had a problem with pests or diseases. If you cut them back after flowering, they usually reward you with another flush of blooms later on. They are so easy to propagate by division, and come in a great many colours and markings. This particular one is a favourite of mine, G. Ann Folkard. This spring I divided it, so now I have two cerise patches in amongst the clouds of purple geraniums. Another good point to having hardy geraniums is the bees love them. There is never a quiet moment to be had when pottering about in this border. I do so like to watch them at their work.

Last year, I took a photo of Clematis 'Rhapsody' on 2nd June, and it was a show-stopper, with too many blooms to count. I treated this pretty climber exactly the same way, but this year I have a total of five flowers. Perhaps it was down to the weather, or perhaps it was just because it flowered so well last year, this year it was resting.

My hanging baskets either side of the door have filled out, and make a very good focal point.

The Fuschias have yet to flower in the baskets, but by the look of these fat buds, I shoudn't think they will be far behind.

There is a lot in bud at present, so all being well, the front border is on it's way to becoming that riot of colour that I see in my head. If the weather behaves of course.

The back garden is a whole different kettle of fish. I suppose you could say it's divided into rooms, each with it's own conditions. The shady corner behind the greenhouse, with another Hardy Geranium, this time in baby pink. Home also to a small pink-and-white Rhododendron, a smaller purple flowered Azalea,and the huge towering spikes of a very popular clump of digitallis, almost constantly visited by fat noisy bumble bees.

In the veg patch, the sweetcorn is still growing strong. I've thinned out the carrots, beetroot and radishes. They are needing to be watered every evening now, regardless of whether it has been raining or not.

In the second veg patch beside the boys' hut, the sweetcorn is coming on nicely too. Here we also have the courgettes, french beans,onions and a mixed lot of flower seedlings. The intention here is to create a bit of a floral under-planting, but some of them will be dug up and replanted in other parts of the garden as the late spring flowers go over and create gaps. I can't actually remember what I sowed amongst all the veg, so it's going to be a bit of a surprise when they are identifiable. A nice one I hope...

A hop, skip and a jump up the garden path brings us to the patio. Here many of the pots are filled with the flowers-yet-to-come, but some colour is to be had here. The wall baskets are begining to fill out, and the first petunia blooms have opened.

Sweet Williams.

Vivid lillies really pack a glowing punch. The only thing these particular lillies lack is fragrance.

The dahlia's were finally planted in the patio border and the peppers, cucumbers and second batch of courgettes planted into grow-bags.

Today I tasted my first home-grown strawberry of the season. Ok so they aren't all especially shaped like the traditional strawb, but what they lack in looks, they more than make up for in flavour. Far and away better than your average water-pumped supermarket variety.