Mid May already! We are almost half way through this year and it feels to be going altogether far too fast for me. Things are popping up in the garden quicker than I have time to notice, including cleavers and bindweed! Until Wednesday we hadn’t had a lot of rain or wind here in the far west of the county during early spring, which was good for the tulips as they weren’t blown over or snapped as often happens, although I had to water the containers. With the wind on Wednesday following overnight rain the last of the tulips are sadly over for another year. But I have enjoyed them for almost 6 weeks.

So here are six more things to enjoy this Saturday.

Those who have been following me for a long time will remember that in the middle of my garden is a large flat granite rock which was the main inspiration for my creating a gravel garden. I have removed the lawn that was originally all around it and now have quite a few grasses and other airy planting. Above you can see the thalictrum and Geum ‘Red Wings’. I am surprised at how tall the Geum is! The flower stems struggle to keep upright. Some of this perennial planting was new last year so I am glad to see most things are coming up again including the Santolina chamaecyparissus in the foreground which looks like it will flower this year.

Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’This was an impulse buy late last year and to be truthful I had forgotten about it. When the leaves appeared I wondered whether it was a self-sown Aquilegia until the dark purple stems appeared. I think it is ‘Black Stockings’ as admired in the Prop’s own garden. It is a tall (180cm) stand out plant with lacy foliage and upright, near-black stems bearing generous sprays of fluffy, bright purple flowers and supposedly does not require staking!

Aconite

Dutch Iris

Narcissus poeticus

My Aconite / Monkshood has reappeared in the woodland border, bigger and bolder than ever, but the colour matches perfectly with my newly grown Dutch irises (‘Metallic Mixture’) which are just beginning to open. The last of my narcissi have opened too – these are the late flowering N. poeticus or poet’s daffodil / pheasant’s eye. This bunch are in a container, but I must find space for them in a border. They have a lovely scent, but they also appear to attract the S&S.

Finally, the first of my roses to open is R. ‘Fighting Temeraire’ which has a lovely mix of pink, peach and yellow and flowers all through the summer.

The header photo is of the Asda clematis montana which has come into its own this month, creeping nicely along the fence, but also heading up into not only my tree but also the neighbours! Oops! I’d better get round there and do some clipping and tying in I think. Plus FMNs to remove and the Erigeron karvinskianus to hack back.

I hope everyone is enjoying the spring sunshine, it’s a busy time for gardeners!

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