Merry May

long gap, because of course there's been far too much to do in the garden for there to be time for writing. after the usual pause where big bare bits appear between the spring bulbs, everything has suddenly surged up and it all looks rather good. of course it helps not to be working............all the plants are clearly benefiting from the attention. there have been some lovely warm days.......last year was relentlessly cold and wet until the end of May, but it's been a lot milder this time although interestingly some things, like the Oriental poppies, the organic rose and the paeonies, seem to me to be later than last year. none are out yet. the bulbs are almost finished apart from the bluebells, so the ones in pots have gone into the gaps, the woodchip is ready to go down at the front, and we await the arrival of the geraniums from Oxfam. Carrie has ordered a huge bag of compost which is all sitting ready for the empty pots............
..........already we're eating home-grown salad leaves. the sorrel has done extremely well and a little clump of salad burnet reappeared in the ex-herb bed............plus, wouldn't you know, the lovage............oh well, it's decorative and it gives the snails something to eat. however, so far despite some wet weather, they've been rather good and not eaten anything vital. potatoes are in and sprouting; onions are shallots ditto, fennel coming back to life, four kinds of mint going.............we're finished off the alpine wall and dressed it with shell sand which looks very nice. our veronica from Cornwall is in its own pot with some home-grown antirrhinums.......we haven't seen the variety "Georgia Blue" anywhere else which may mean it won't grow here, but i've bought a couple of other veronicas because the flowers are so pretty. an artichoke sits in the big blue pot in splendour............the tomatoes are out, though looking a bit pinched and unhappy..........even the Tesco basil looks very healthy, the Thai basil also doing very well, and the purple basil from last year's seeds. the runner beans are in the hanging gardens of Trinity making friends with John and Fiona's honeysuckle. clematis in full flower at the moment, and first Cystis flower out today. no sign of the bergamot, it may be a casualty......or the corydalis which i suspect has become a juicy snail snack.
...........poor old Australian tree fern completely bone-dry so i've re-potted it with moss and a good soak and put it beside the mini-pond which contains water mint, irises and a Bloody Dock.......the LOTV still sulking in the pot doing absolutely nothing, so maybe i need to give up and move them to SQ............
.........bought loads of plants at Redhall open day, endearingly chaotic but cheap...........including the Flora Incognita which is now part of the Mum Memorial Garden at Carrie's..........some red Lysimachia "Firecracker" which i fully expected the snails to eat but maybe the shell mulch is working..............the coffee grounds and Germolene seem to be keeping them off the canary creeper so far.................
.................most of the seedlings are now at their final destinations, apart from courgettes just in and some more flower seeds..........they were right about the lemon catmint being slow to germinate, two seedlings out of 100 is not a great percentage i feel........okra still alive but not looking terribly enthusiastic.......chili pepper plants look healthy tho and need potting on, and the passiflora beginning to take off, unlike its mate outside..........
........oh, and of course the Marvel of Peru................well, they have grown to a great height so i've just re-potted them, kept most indoors but one out to see how it gets on, with tomatoes and a runner bean................morning glories are staying inside and happliy climbing up the bathroom blind, but i've got some more that can go in the hanging gardens once they've sprouted...........