So, the first week of May and here in the northern hemisphere everything is turning green. That lovely fresh, bright green that only exists for a few weeks. Birds are singing and doing the things that birds do at this time of year; bees are buzzing around the garden; there are lots of things for a gardener to get on with and new blooms to admire.

First off let me introduce you to my robin, again. This one is quite distinctive as it appears to have a necklace around its neck. This is the second year that it has been my constant garden companion and it cheekily hops around me as I work in the garden, often waiting for me to refill the sunflower seeds and barely letting me move away before hopping onto the feeder. I’m not sure how long robins live for, but I shall be sad to see this one go.

In the herb bed behind the robin you can see Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) in flower. The air is filled with the sweet smell of aniseed. Apparently the leaves and the seeds can be eaten. I shall be adding some of the leaves to my stewed rhubarb as the natural sweetness of the leaves has been used to reduce sugar in recipes.

Close to the Herb Bed is a little shady spot under the Contorted / Twisted Hazel tree which is just coming into leaf. I have the Brunnera  macrophylla ‘Sea Heart’, a hardy geranium that is just beginning to regrow, Geum ‘Bell Bank’ and several Heuchera plants – Marmalade and Lime Marmalade. The lime ones are not looking very well this year, they have been here since I moved in so getting on a bit. I dug one plant up and cut off pieces to pot up before replanting it.

Around the other side of the hazel are more Heucheras including this lovely deep red one, ‘Coralberry’, which is looking rather lovely against my deep red tulips.

And a similar colour can be found in this little Weigela. Which after 6 years of not knowing what it’s name is has finally been IDed. Whilst digging out an old variegated Hebe that grew alongside the Weigela I found the original plant label.

So welcome to Weigela ‘Minor Black’ which is a hardy, dwarf deciduous shrub with a compact habit. Purple foliage and pink flowers. Best in an open position. Mmm… well that last part isn’t quite true as this one is planted very close to my other tree. I do however have a second shrub from a cutting which is, however that one hasn’t grown anywhere near as well as this one.

Staying at the end of the garden we will find Geranium macrorrhizum ‘ingwersen’s variety’ which seems to love its location in the woodland walled border. It produces generous mounds of soft, hairy, highly fragrant pale green leaves spreading by means of runners. the flowers are blush pink, produced in small clusters. Supposedly it likes a dry site, which is hard to find here and I moved it several times before it really took off. This week I found it a popular place for bees.

I hope that  despite the lack of April showers May is blooming well for you and that we all enjoy some sunny weather so we can get outside and enjoy our gardens.

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.

Six on Saturday