Early summer has well and truly arrived in the garden. It’s been a good year for the roses, with Generous Gardener providing some beautiful pale pink blooms, and my new Rosa mutabilis already growing out of its pot. I have high hopes for this one, as it is said to flower almost all year round. I planted some allium bulbs in the autumn, and they are absolutely wonderful. I chose the largest variety, Allium christophii, proving that a big plant in a small garden can look very effective.
The alliums are in a raised bed with some sweet peas and hot pink anemones (which I don’t remember planting!).
My aim has always been to have enough flowers to pick for the house. So far this year, I’m on track.
The sweet peas are just beginning, so I’m hoping for daily posies. The more you cut, the more you get, so it is a win-win situation.
The vintage pots are coming into their own again. I have added one or two from this year’s car boot sales. I don’t go every week, as space really is tight here as my youngest son is living with us for a few months, but if it’s a sunny Sunday morning, and I have no plans, then I do like to visit early to hunt for a little treasure.
If I don’t have enough flowers to fill a vase, a bowl of water works well to float the heads, and it should last for a few days. The pollinators are loving my flowery garden, of course. The bees are back, although I still haven’t seen many butterflies.
This self seeded foxglove has been so beautiful. I only have one! It is in a pot, and I have kept it well watered.
This lovely container has (almost) survived from last year. The salvia returned, and I just replenished the ‘spiller’ plants, using verbena and calibrachoa to create another layer of colours.
The garden looks lovely as the sun goes down, too. I’m loving the black elder, with geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ in the foreground.
I’ve added a huge parasol on the patio, as we’ve had so much sunshine through May. This was a gift, from a new Scottish company, The Outdoor Edit. I chose a dark floral, called ‘Bouquet.’ It’s so big, 2.5m, it almost creates a shady room, perfect for hot days.
Although work has been exceptionally busy this past few months, I have been trying to get out and about more. These ox-eye daisies at a local nature reserve looked like a river.
And a visit to Suffolk to do an interview revealed so many beautiful rural vistas, like this buttercup path.
We borrowed our neighbours’ beautiful dog for a nearby stroll. Don’t miss the wildflowers this year, they really are sensational, and a very uplifting sight.
I took my dad bird watching one evening and he reckoned an evening in nature had done him a power of good. He’s 94, and still able to enjoy the benefits!
I haven’t had time for much painting, and I’m not doing an open studio this year, but I did make four minis recently. Three have sold (just bottom left available), but if you’d like something similar, let me know. They are oils on recycled cardboard, and cost £25 each. They are only small, around 12cm by 8xm, but they are perfect for propping on a shelf. The anemones have found a home in France! Hopefully I will have chance to do more soon, as I’ve missed my paints.
Have a good month, and happy gardening!