Miracles DO happen. It is a long weekend and the sun is shining. There will be no beach visits by me though as I have things to do in the garden. So far I have managed to re-pot all the Fuchsias that I bought last year so they can now be moved into the courtyard and hopefully grow and be amazing! I have cut back the Fatsia Japonica which was threatening to shadow the whole of my patio and thinned out the Bamboo to allow light to reach the under-planting: Aquilegia and Ophiopogon nigra, a grass-like plant with low-growing tufts of very dark purple blades, that actually appear to be black. In fact I should try and remove some of that for elsewhere in the garden. Next job is to repaint the raised beds before putting in my new herbs and perennials.
- New plants bought this week include this pretty Kangaroo Paw or Anigozanthos – a pretty red one which reveals green with yellow stamens when the furry buds open. Why is is called Kangaroo Paw? Because it has tubular, curved and densely hairy flowers that look rather like the paws of a kangaroo! Native to Western Australia. This will go outdoors onto the patio for the summer, but back into the Orangery for the winter months. I just need to buy a nice new pot for it.
- Three new plants have been bought for the Belfast sink – my little Alpine trough – two Pulsatilla or Pasque flowers and one Lewisia which is apparently frost hardy, though dislikes wet intensely, so that might need to be brought indoors over winter too. I have kept the succulents in their pots for easy removal and replanted the Fuchsia microphylla ‘Cornish Pixie’ in the garden and the Erigeron karvinskianus in the Cornish hedge.
- Talking of the Cornish hedge, when I went to check on the cuttings of Erigeron glaucus I had planted in the wall I found them on the floor. All had been pulled out of the soil. I don’t know whether by birds or rabbits, but all the primroses I planted there have been eaten. I have now planted several Campanulas and Persicaria in the wall and put lots of ‘pea sticks’ in! So far so good…
- Time for more tulips. The third new one grown this year is ‘Apricot Foxx’. Yes I know I have mentioned her before, but now I think I have the right one! More apricot in colour (golden yellow) than ‘Apricot Beauty’ which is salmon pink, it does look lovely in the sunlight.
Tulipa ‘Apricot Foxx’ - And the fourth tulip in that collection is ‘La Belle Epoque’ a stunning blend of apricot-pink and coffee petals which lasts for ages. Well, maybe not in my garden. She is a double late flowering tulip sort of like a peony and not recommended for windy sites with her heavy head. I should have read that before buying her! Still she’s a pretty colour and fades nicely with the texture of old silk. I expected ‘late flowering‘ to mean May. Looks like my tulips will be finished long before then.
Tuli[pa ‘La Belle Epoque’ - I think this is Geranium (Cinereum Group) but someone may be able to be more accurate with the ID. A dwarf hardy geranium with deeply cut leaves, this is growing in a tiny crack along a stone ledge in the patio. First time flowering.
Oh, and the first sighting yesterday of ‘Batty’. A Greater Horseshoe bat (I believe) that frequents our courtyard in the summer. Lovely to have him/her back again. Now we await the arrival of the Swifts.
As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden walls then please pop over to our host, the lovely Jon, AKA ‘The Propagator’ where you find links to many more wonderful garden enthusiasts from all over the world
See here for the participant’s guide.
Cornwall in Colours 
I think all the tulips are a little on the early side this year, or perhaps they were late last year with the cold spring.
Mine weren’t great last year. The heatwave we had last April/May (?) knocked them for six. They have suffered this weekend too in the pots.
oh how gorgeous . . .and you are very calm about all the munching and pulling out!
I am a very patient gardener. I expect things to ‘happen’ and as this area is unfenced anything can wander in – and does – but hopefully once plants get established they will be able to put up with a bit of munching.
Still very impressive xx