May - a foot each in winter and summer

"Don't knock the weather: nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while."

-  Kin Hubbard

May is such a fickle month.  One day the garden is bathed in glorious warm sunshine reminiscent of halcyon days of our youth...

...the next, out come big coats and gloves, and we're scraping car windscreens!

There is much truth in the old wives' tale ...ne'er cast a clout till May be out.

This week we have had night time frosts; -5c is definitely enough to blacken fresh foliage and kill delicate bedding plants.

Most of the plants in our garden are either trees, shrubs, evergreens, herbaceous perennial or biennial like the foxglove above, which seeds itself around and we just weed out those we don't want. 

This beautiful blue ceanothus is c. Italian Skies which is just coming into flower now in the front garden, and is a magnet for bees.

Deliciously scented pink r. Gertrude Jekyll over the arch on the patio. 

And growing up over the other side of the arch is the peach coloured r. Shropshire Lad.

There are a couple of jobs that need attention this week.  The wisteria is growing at top speed and needs tying in, and the wishy washy aquilegias need removing before they set seed.

These ones however, can remain.

So watch out for those night time temperatures.  Anything below 10c, and I pop fleece over anything tender, or bring it inside.

Keep alert, stay safe and enjoy the flowers.

May - a force to be reckoned with

So far it has been quite warm and sunny, however May often has a trick or two up her sleeve.  

22c one day....then a cold arctic blast reminds us that we do not control the weather. 

This was actually an empty shell, beneath Angel's shrub (Weigela Wings of Fire), in the corner of the Long Border and Patio Borders. 

Globes of allium Purple Sensation above,  and peony Bowl of Beauty below about to burst open. 

The bearded iris have begun to join in the display in the Terrace Border. 

Oh and the wisteria is in flower!

Next week, I'm going to buy some bedding plants for us, mother-in-law and TMTC's aunt.  We have a local nursery that has just released appointment times to ensure social distancing, and if your name's not down, you ain't getting in.

It's Saturday morning as I create this entry.  Tomorrow Boris Johnson and his government are expected to announce certain restrictions to be relaxed. I hope they don't go too soon and too quickly and the mortality figures respond in the same inevitable manner. 

Stay safe and well.

Warm Spring Sunshine

Each season I find something that makes me happy.  In spring it's the speed at which everything comes together.  The sun becomes brighter and warmer, the days longer.  The birds fill my heart with their song, the leaves unfurl and as each flower swells and bursts open, I cannot imagine wanting to be anywhere but in the garden.  

These three photos show just how quickly acer Aureum leaves explode from tightly wrapped buds when the warm spring days arrive. 

In the Yen Garden, crimson rhododendron flowers are about to bloom.

The pruning of this Japanese cherry blossom, prunus serrulata Kanzan, has paid dividends as it is now smothered in sugary pink, nectar rich clusters that are a magnet for bees.

Above, acer palmatum Sango-kaku is now in full leaf, as is the rich deep tone of what we think is a. dissectum Garnet. 

Sitting beneath the wisteria laden arch that leads to the Yen Garden, sat a large green glazed pot containing cannas.  Today I dug these up and repotted them into a smaller container of the same design. 

The larger green pot is required for a greater purpose, which be revealed at a later date.

The increasingly rare sighting of our very own Bumblebee. He doesn't often venture into the garden, however the lockdown has caused many folk to behave in unusual ways, and the wildlife are thriving as a result!

In the meantime, The Man That Can has been a busy bee also.  Last week I removed the rotting log roll from either side of the arch on the patio.  This week, TMTC has removed all the concreted stones along the edge of the left hand side and along the Long Border.  This has created a trench of around 7 or 8 inches in width. 

He then filled the trench with a mixture of old compost and top soil, before removing the rotting log roll. In the coming weeks I shall bring some of the lower growing plants forward into this new space to blend it all together.

Hard work over for now, it's time to enjoy the garden.  A pleasure for all the senses. 

Easter

It's relatively easy for me as an introvert to cope with the lockdown as I don't feel the urge many people do to be out and about. I'm happy to spend time in the home or garden with my family.

Mother nature blessed the 4 day weekend with good weather so out came the cushions for the patio furniture so we were able to enjoy it.

There has been an explosion of foliage on the trees in the garden. The Tibetan cherry has even put on a display of tiny white flowers.

Before the serious business of relaxation could begin, there were a few tasks to attend to.  I removed the rotting log roll from the Terrace border and both sides of the patio borders.  TMTC cleaned the pond pump and the water butts, and between us we cleaned the trunks of the birches and Tibetan cherry, along with the seating in the Yen, Mugwart's Retreat, and on the patio.  Everywhere was watered really well and mulches applied for the roses with manure and the acid lovers with old ericaceous compost mixed with some slow release fertiliser. 

  

Time to sit and stitch in the sunshine. 

The blackbirds aren't afraid of us and come very close.

Tulip time.

And....Ellie.  She is such a sun worshipper.  Angel rarely sat in the sun and actively sought the shade, preferably inside.  Ellie is the opposite.  She will follow a shaft of sunlight around and if the door is open will sit outside on the terrace alone if she has to.

However, if she can sit on the sun lounger, pushing you into the shade cast by the parasol then she will.

She's such a diva.