Another week with torrential rain and more flooding, when is it all going to end? We have had a fair amount of sunshine as well though, but usually accompanied by very cold winds. Plants are flowering as usual, they don’t seem to mind the weather. We are almost into rhododendron time, lots of fat buds waiting in the wings. Time now for this weeks six.
Rhododendron in the back border, now starting to flower, this is the one which tried flowering for Christmas and then decided to wait for the correct time of year.
Claytonia which forms ground cover over a lot of the rockery. It does spread somewhat but is very easy to remove if there is too much. It has spread by itself into the woodland so I will have to keep an eye on it.
A seedling Aquilegia which has popped up on the rockery, looks like Wm Guiness, but is just a wild seedling.
Hosta June on the rockery, looking very lush and so far no holes!
Hosta Sagae in the back border is still looking pristine, this is a nice large one.
My first candelabra primula, Primula japonica Millers Crimson, flowering in the bog garden. I have lost a lot over the winter and spring as they might like damp soil but they don’t like sitting in water for months on end!
My lovely Acer palmatum Westonbirst Spreading Star is finally looking as though it is happy. For weeks now with all the north wind blowing straight at it, is leaves have been curled up and it looked really cold. I must plant a shelter belt of camellias and hydrangeas.
My Braeburn apple tree in full flower. It also shows part of the fence leaning in at a strange angle. I’ll have to get Jospeh, my young handy man to come and fix it for me!
Those are my six for this week, thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations for organising, do pay him a visit if you would like to see gardens around the world. I have so much work to do here, lots of weeding and planting, just need the weather for it all to be possible. Lovely sunshine at the moment but forecast for this weekend isn’t very good for us, more rain to come, but maybe next week will be better. I hope the weather will be better for you and you manage a weekend of gardening!
I suppose the rain must stop sometime! The hostas are looking lovely, perhaps somewhat surprising considering the wet weather. Looks like you’re going to have lots of lovely Braeburn apples Pauline.
The forecast for next week is looking a lot better Denise, thank goodness! Yes, I think it will be a bumper crop of apples, there are plenty of bees about at the moment.
Lots of lovely plants this week, the hosta and primula in particular are stunning. The primula is such a gorgeous colour.
I think the hostas and primulas have liked all the rain Helen, glad something does! Next week looks better though.
Pretty dark colour of aquilegias! I don’t have any more two-tone and dark ones like that. Then I find this superb acer. You grow it like a bonsai I think?
I was surprised when the Aquilegia popped up Fred, as I have never bought one like it. The Acer is in a large pot but should grow to its proper size which is 1 metre high by almost 2 metres wide, I think that is a bit big to be called a bonsai!
The Rhododendron is looking lovely – I’ll just have to admire yours, Pauline, since something has eaten all the buds on mine. Those are two lovely hostas, I think the snails are getting to mine (sigh) that’s another job to be tackled. Your Acer is looking grand indeed, it seems to have coped well with the cold winds. It looks as though your tree is going to produce a huge amount of apples! Yum!
Thanks Catherine, but how frustrating that something has eaten all your rhodo buds! The Acer is looking much happier now that the very cold north wind has stopped, all the plants in that new area were looking rather cold last week with their leaves curled up, a lot happier now. I agree, I’m going to have loads of apples to give away after I’ve got mine safely in the freezer!
A lovely selection. Primula japonica Millers Crimson is very striking. I tried growing some from seed but without success.
Thanks Graeme. Carol Klein grows her primroses from very fresh seed while it is still green, I have done that a few times and it works!
Glorious apple blossom! I’ll send you some of my sunny days and you can give you some of your rain! 😘🌸 Pretty Acer and amazing Rhododendrons!
That seems a fair swop Sarah, it is raining once more here and more forecast for tomorrow, but after that things are supposed to get better. All the rhododendrons are ready to open their buds so soon it will all be very colourful.
My goodness, Pauline, your hostas are pristine!! I am afraid mine have been thoroughly neglected so far this year because they have all been shoved in a corner while we have been having some work done on the house – hopefully the scaffolding will come down very soon and I will begin to take note of them again. Even though that aquilegia is a seedling, it is still a pretty one
I try to keep around my hostas clear of leaves or any ground cover Cathy, where S&S can hide, then hopefully my blackbirds, thrushes and hedgehogs can eat any they find.