It's dry with sunny spells and as I bring you this blog post the tell tale pungent aroma of barbecue chemicals is in the air...it's the beginning of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend!
Since I'd been canny in doing my shopping earlier this week, we were able to get cracking on bringing a bit of summer colour to the garden in the hope we will be able to sit and enjoy the benefits later in the weekend.
The first job was to paint and erect the two trellis panels to support the clematis armandii that had previously adorned the waterbutts. It should perform a bit better now it's been planted in the ground rather than in a pot. The panels are attached to hooks so we can remove them to maintain the fence.
Down in the Yen Garden, the pink azalea is incredible! The purple one is yet to flower.
The gifted Rhododendron is about to flower.
TMTC is yet again on his knees. This time he's lifting the three white Phlox and replacing with two pink and two purple Platycodons. Intriguing buds look like balloons, hence their common name balloon flower.
This is a Papaver Patty's Plum (above), and blue ceanothus (below) also known a Californian Lilac. I've grown the latter in all my gardens. The bright blue flowers are a bee magnet. This is a prostrate form.
The white Phlox were replanted in the semi shade of the pink garden...and you can just make out Ellie sniffing them in the mirror below.
This huge tree grows in a neighbouring garden and the canopy overhangs the Yen Garden. It doesn't cast any shade but at this time of year deposits seeds in their millions.
I'm hoping the weed membrane prevents any germination!
Angel peeking through the acers.
We've planted a Peony Bowl of Beauty in the bed behind the benches,
along with an Aquilegia in similar colours,
and a pink upright Phlox bottom right of the photo above.
In the pink garden, a white hardy geranium.
Clematis Montana in full swing.
A pot of muscari was planted along the back of the pond. If they like it here they will multiply and create a bit of a pool of blue in future springs. There are a few white forms here too from the mangers that had been above this area on the shed wall.
The broken pot that housed the muscari has been utilised as an amphibian house:
Almost all of the violas from the patio seat planters have been lifted and replanted in gaps around the garden, along with most of the narcissus bulbs.
They'll have a bit of a trim so they can flower again later in the year...then I'll let them self seed.
The rogue dark red violas were replanted back into the planters along with two hot pink pelargoniums, pink trailing verbena, petunias and white trailing lobelia.
In each planter is also a lovely pink on pink osteospermum.
In the mangers beneath the kitchen window I've chosen Calibrachoa million bells in yellows and oranges with yellow petunias, bronze carex and Sanvitalia. Unfortunately I couldn't find any hardy Gerberas in the right colour to complete the planting suggestion in the June edition of Garden Answers so I substituted them with an orangey red pelargonium for height. It's the first time I've 'copied' a magazine's project....although I have noticed a number of projects that we have already completed cropping up in their new sister magazine 'Modern Gardens' (my new favourite).
More violas.
Once all the hard work was over, everything cleared away and all the detritus washed away, we were able to sit and relax in the Yen Garden. The stones are not a comfortable place for a dog to lay down. Angel is very good about finding shade or returning indoors when she gets too hot. Ellie isn't as bright. Then I had an idea....
Between the seats is a table with a shelf beneath. I asked her to sit on the wood initially and she looked at me like I had two heads....a bit of softness offered however and she was much happier to sit in the shade!
