Minuses and pluses

Not a good year for the pocket handkerchief tree - disappointing flowers in size and duration (this is last year's picture)

 but a marvellous year for lupins and other herbaceous plants.

What weedkillers kill

A little tuft of speedwell, with geranium and primula in the lawn, current spared from the mower.

Fothergilla

From the USA, this acid-loving shrub fothergilla gardenii (Dwarf Witchalder)has small bottle-brush tassels. Who, I wonder, was Mr. Fothergill? He was John Fothergill, (8 March 1712 – 26 December 1780) whose botanic garden in Upton (West Ham) rivalled those in Chelsea and Oxford.

A glance out of the window reveals one overflying heron, one goldfinch on a bush, and a couple of orange tip butterflies, which seem plentiful this year.

Geraniums...

First, genanium phaeum - not Samovar but close. The English name 'cranesbill' is mimicked by the Greek word 'crane' in genanium.

 and an in your face type,,,

Iris in a pond

The versatile Iris

Alpine heights

An erythronium and alpine friends... erythronium origonum, Deer's Tongue or White Fawn Lily, a native of USA

Potty

Two in pots - a miniature lilac in memory of Aunt Maisie

and, Fothergilla gardenii, or Dwarf Witchalder from the USA (foreground). It sits in a buried pot in our alkali soil because it is a lime hater.

Goodnight and Good Morning.

The fading splendour of Rosa Banksia (top), with the emerging flowers of two other roses, below. The title comes from the autobiography of the Ranee of Sarawak who was brought up in nearby (now ruined) Blunsdon Hall.

The Dunwich Rose which flowers for a two week period, after which its pot is moved out of sight.

 and Rosa Moyesii 'Geranium' whose feet are in the ground

New on the block

New bearded iris opened yesterday

New iri

Little and Large

This white verbascum is just emerging, and under it the delicate peardrops of Solomon's Seal

 And here the deutzia is foregrounded with massive unidentified perennial cornflower (centaurea) commonly called 'bachelor's buttons'.

Granny's Bonnets...

Aquilegias are promiscuous beasts, so these two exist nowhere else in the world. In our garden, deep purple aquilegia vulgaris runs wild and rampant, so get deadheaded and thinned out to encourage the more interesting forms to develop. Again, click on the picture to enlarge.

Iris's Blue Tuft

The 'bearded iris' is so called for the hairy tuft which stimulates the pollination process. Here in the top picture you can see the delicate blue 'beard' on this white flower. Click the picture to enlarge, for best effect. The whole plant is pictured below.

Gold Plus

Still on the golden theme, here is physocarpus opulifolius 'Angel Gold' commonly called Ninebark because of the peeling bark of mature trees. Native of north America. This one is planted nearby two other forms, one with green leaves, the other, 'Diablo' with deep purple/black. 'Angel Gold is surrounded by forget-me-not and lysImachia 'Firecracker'. Unidentified plant in the foreground - I am working on it.

Then heuchera 'Limelight', one of several lime-leaved heuchera.

Finally, to mark that I finished digging over the bed we call Hidcote, here is the west end, blue cornflower on front of deutzias. Sweet peas and cosmos are about to be planted. Bearded irises and iris siberica are doing very well - pictures in a few days when they break flower.

More Gold

Paeonies this time - the top two herbaceous paeonies, here today gone tomorrow ...
the bottom two are tree paeonies. The tree is about 8 foot high and needs a hard prune after flowerng, I think.

Paeonies, this time

Gold in them there valleys...

In a colourful garden, green is a colour. Here golden lime green, or cornus (top) and spiraea 'Goldflame' (below). More tomorrow.

New blossom

Deutzia (top) and Choisya 'Aztec Pearl ' (bottom). The sun is out today, so perhaps even a bit of weeding! The top picture shows it is needed.

Aglow

Late sun shining through the purple leaves of this flowering plum.

Banksian Rose

Named after the plant finder extraodinary Sir Joseph Banks and coming now into full flower.

Last but not least

The last tulip and the last daffodil to flower, photographed yesterday.

The pheasant-eye daffodil is generally the last of the season to flower. Since our first daffodil was at Christmas, that adds up to five daffodil-flowering months.

A plant for all seasons

Symphytum 'Hidcote Blue' is in the comfrey family. It will grow anywhere, shade or sun, on poor neglected soil. So, it is ideal for problem areas. As ground cover, smothers all weeds. Bees love it and if flowers for months. It is invasive, so just keep it within its bounds. Put the leaves into a water butt and it will produce a smelly organic liquid fertiliser.

Today was the village plant sale. We raised well over £400 on plants, and more with cakes and cafe.

Hairy Tulips

In case you are not yet fed up with tulips, here's a couple for the jaded palette.

Geraniums, for a change.

This Kashmir geranium has, unlike Samovar, very lightly spotted leaves.

Here the beauty is in the veining.