Two days before the open garden on Monday. Don't panic. Have just filled 4 green sacks of weeds. Here is a spring scene in the front garden, followed by one of our two most precious plants. will put in a photo of the second one, primula scotica from Orkney, soon since it has just come into flower.

This inauspicious shoot is weigela 'Roman Court', actually now in its third year. The parent (photograph below from end of April last year) is a variegated sport from the purple leaved weigela. Very reluctant to root, I managed four cuttings of which only these two survived. They promise to be very small pygmy shrubs.

Last year's picture of the parent stock, a light green variegated sport.

Good Friday

This erythronium is a little beauty.

Rootbound

A totally rootbound buddleya salvifolia - here is what to do.

 Tease out the rootball with a blunt instrument - here with the blunt part of secateurs, then soak in a bucket of water

 Add some rootgrow (friendly fungi) to cling to the roots, then plant and water in.

Here is the reward.

Blossom

A tiny Japanese prunus

 and the evergreen clematis 'armandii'.

Pondweed

Tuesday 3 April: spent the day filling a skip with household and garden rubbish. The main blog topic today is pondweed, and in particular New Zealand pigmy weed. It is unwisely sold as a pond plant but is on the DEFRA nuisance plant list. This is me removing an infestation from the small pond.

 The weed in detail.

Racy Reds

The garden is open to the village next Monday - 7 day countdown. A skip was delivered this morning. Panic.  Camellia

 Quince

 and a pink camellia

Mellow Yellow

The kingcup, caltha which loves boggy conditions

 and a stately unnamed daffodil with reflexed petals, from a mystery pack from Lincolnshire.