Looking back at the photos of my garden in May it’s clear that as well as the rain, the flowers started to come and in plenty of colours too. I popped out into the garden yesterday evening, during a short break in the rain and was struck by the light and how it bounced off the leaves as they glistened, and the first of these photos do that too.
It’s odd though to see the weigela flowering at the same time as the camellia. But with the latter being extremely late this year, and not really making too much of a go of it, this year we had pinks on opposite sides of the garden at the same time.
At the back of the garden the Lords and Ladies next to the small Christmas tree (which you can just about see in the background) have really taken hold. The leaves are huge, and this one made me do a double take. I’m sure I’m not the only one that sees a pair of ears and a long face?
There were some fine days this month too, and in the border by the patio this delicate white bulb appeared. I’m not sure exactly what it is, if it’s something I’ve planted, or something that’s arrived of its own accord. It seems to be the only one of its kind, so who knows, it’s pretty though.
This year I’ve had quite some success with the alliums. Still not quite as many as I’d like, but the most I’ve had. And considering I’ve not planted any new bulbs, or done anything to them, I’m calling this a win. Every year I say I’ll have more alliums, and one year I’ll get around to planting some to increase my chances of success.
The rest of the patio bed, and the fences and above those too have been covered with flowers from the Chilean potato plant. They’re pretty flowers, but once the plant takes hold, it’s prolific and needs a good trim to keep it under control.
As I checked behind the gabion basket planters - which are a great place to stow pots over winter to protect them from frost - I spotted a geranium which had over-wintered there, and already in flower. I’m sure it’s much paler in colour than it was last year, but unusually for me, I’m quite taken with the pastel version.
There is a bit of a theme with the pastels though, these daisies were planted as plug plants a year or so ago in the sleeper bed, and finally they’re doing what I want them to do: providing ground cover, tumbling down the sleepers and looking pretty. A job well done, now all I need to do is stop MOH removing them as “weeds”…
Under the lilac we’ve another addition that is not of our doing, some buttercups. They’re pretty, but I’m sure they won’t be staying long term.
And already there are plenty of cherries on the tree. I think the year’s I don’t hold out much hope for actually eating any of them, or beating the pigeons to them, I’m always surprised. We were away last week and had the weather been good, and continued the same then it’s likely that they’d all, or mostly, be gone by the time we got back. But the good news is, they’re still there so the race is on to see who gets to them first, or if this year we’ll share fairly - but more on that next month!
In the middle of the garden in recent years we’ve discovered, or rather uncovered, a pyracantha. They are the prickliest of plants, and their pretty delicate flowers defy the viciousness beneath. As we’ve cut more of the plants around it back, and given it some space, it’s thrived, and this year there’s been boughs of jewelled branches which have been easily to spot from the house.
It’s got to the point though that this too needs a trim, as does the large - and growing back at a rate of knots - euonymus. Both are plants that will fill our compost bins quite quickly, and if we’re not careful the pyracantha will leave its mark, if not its thorns, in our gardening gloves and skin. Cutting them back, is definitely on the list of jobs for June, along with many more - hopefully the rain will stop again so we can start to bring this part of our garden back under control.
I’ll share how we get on next month, and I’ll let you know how we fared with the cherries too!
