May Garden Jewels

  The third week of May has seen the garden explode with new growth and flowers. This Peony Sarah Bernhardt has never flowered. It is growing up into the green concentric ring.Their are lots of ants running all over the small flower buds.I hope this will be have lovely blooms.

 The new plant in the wild flower area is beginning to show a little blue. I cut back some of the wildflower/weed that had covered the wildflower area to allow some of the shyer plants to grow and bloom. These should hopefully self seed and come every year.

 This lovely Thistle has dark maroon flowers. I saw it in some of the Chelsea show gardens. It is refined, architectural, and attracts the bees.

 Another new addition to the Apple tree pot are five English native Bluebells.They are supposed to have a violet smell, but i could not smell it yet.maybe when more of the bells flower I can smell it.

 Another returning plant is the Alium Gladiator.I have three of these plants that regrow from the ground year after year.

 The flowers look like purple or white fireworks and are beloved by Bee's and pollinating insects. If they can stay upright and not fall over with the weight of the blooms.I keep wanting to buy more bulbs at the Autumn flower show. They punctuate the sunken border with their colourful globes.

 This is one of my surprising photos. It shows the sunken border under the Ceanothus.It is unfurling the first honey blue flowers. The Dogwood from Harlow Carr is a rich yellow leaves and flower buds that contrast to the Lupins, and Geum Mrs Bradshaw.The problem is the Dogwood is starting to grow out onto the concrete path.It will need moving or trimming down the path side.The yellow leaves inject some colour into the predominantly green border.

 The Aquilegias are nearly flowering. I planted a load more of them in the wild flower area, and the sunken border. I love their trailing spurs, and cottage garden looks. I hope they mix and self seed. I have Welsh Poppies, and the Oriental Poppy that self seed and appear where you do not expect to find them. If i recognise the seedling I will let it grow.

 The Pansy's under the Roses continue to delight me with their many colours. Like Josephs technicolour dream coat. Their colours are great.

 The Kerria flowers still look beautiful on the dangling stems, with the Japanese painted fern, and Yellow Cherry tree as a backdrop.

 The Geum Orange look amazing still. The leaves are perfect, and the flowers glow like orange flying saucers. They catch the sunlight and just shine like little jewels.I love them.

The last photo shows the newly planted Barrel container. I planted two of the Domino Foxgloves, and the Sweet Peas Navy Blue, and White Supreme. Two planters have the spiral wires for the peas to grow up. Their is a third pot with the Alan Titchmarsh Scented Mixed too.I hope that they give the house cut flowers to fragrance the rooms.Bringing the garden indoors is a good reason to grow them. The more you cut them the better they flower.
 I watched the medals handed out at the Chelsea flower show today.It is inspiring when you see all the flowers, and arrangements of the gardens. It just remembering when you go plant shopping what you have seen