'Tis The First Rose Of Summer 2016

Won by the organic rose this year, several blooms out and Crown Princess Margrethe not yet off the starting blocks.

Cherry blossom lasted for ages this year due to no gales but just about finishing now, along with the apple blossom. I have planted the crab apple down near the fruit bushes, and since it's been warm for a few days, put out the heliotrope and verbena seedlings, the only problem being that I got the seed trays mixed up so have no idea which is which. One is in the container by the pond and the other in the bed by the organic rose, but if they make it I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I've never grown heliotrope before, and of course may be just about to not grow it again, so I don't know what it's supposed to look like...........

Angi's beans are doing fantastically well in the barrel, but the runner beans are being very slow and the dwarf runner beans have done this:

I don't feel that this is a wonderfully impressive germination rate, and the one seedling has now keeled over and expired with no sign of any others appearing - confirming my suspicion that fancy varieties of things are generally too delicate and you're best with old tried-and-tested bog-standard versions. As usual we have a few ectopic potatoes coming up in the beds, so much for not growing any this year...........chard doing very well, sorrel also in the greenhouse although it is not the French sorrel the label says it is. Live salad now in the cold frame ready to eat. My other theory that things called after TV personalities and Nice Lady Gardeners don't grow either is borne out by the "Jekka's Herb Garden" angelica failing to sprout just like last year's Sarah Raven sunflowers - they are usually expensive and have lovely pictures on the packet but all there is to look at is the lovely pictures and no actual plants.

But otherwise everything is looking very lovely, and the whole house smells of lilac. Paeonies just about to bloom and honeysuckle will follow soon. And in the greenhouse, the one sweet pea from last year that decided to overwinter...............because last year was so cold everyone's sweet peas did really badly and we had no flowers, but this one must have lurked in the greenhouse bed, came up in the autumn, has grown to enormous size and is starting to flower. It turns out to be white, and highly perfumed.........so so what if the flowers are in the greenhouse and the veg are outside......

Snow-in-summer in the front garden, grown from a clump taken from Mum's garden.....

 Front garden lilac

Nemesia by the pond

Paeony ready to pop.......

Ladies Who Lunch

So, we have finished the pond revamp for the time being, and it looks very nice. The top picture, however, is not the pond but the Forth - we took the kayaks out last Monday for a quick paddle as it was such a beautiful day, and had lunch by the breakwater. The new bridge is coming on fast and they have just closed the first gap.

But it is now very nice to sit by the pond for a cup of tea on a warm day...........we stare at the frogs and the frogs stare back, and the solar fountain tinkles merrily, and the bees pop down for a drink..........

A Taste of Honey

Very exciting!................even if the bees are now starting to get a bit nippy and sting the neighbours - not to mention stinging me on the face just before an important conference, evil little blighters

Mansewald

Through to Greenock to help David with somewhat overgrown manse garden. Unfortunately we did not find a gingerbread house, but we did find some treasures including beautiful bluebells and lilac, and a paeony and potentilla in what at first just appeared to be huge clumps of montbretia. It still needs a little (!) but of work, but we have made a start...............

Apple Blossom Time

Get OUT of the greenhouse, you are supposed to be an outdoor plant........

Who will win the "Tis the First Rose of Summer" contest this year......Crown Princess Margrethe.....?

Or the organic rose......?

Apple tree much happier since we moved it into the bed......so have just planted the last one into the bed as well. Crab apple from Hill House will be joining them shortly

Tree peony just out....

And new geum. I've put in some Kaffir lilies by the pond, or rather one Kaffir lily split into four clumps. Have put the purple hebe "Merlot memories" (!!) up on the bank, with the World's Stubbornest Paeony beside it ready for the 13-year wait for it to flower.......

Moving in

Reconstructing the new pond.................liner on top of the new base and extended beyond it to make a bog area, then gradually tipping the old liner to release the tenants

Beginning to plant up..............adding the irises

New geum "Mrs S Bradshaw"

The Frogs Put In An Extension

New liner arrives..............

The humans are up to something. Not only have they taken the roof off so that all those nice grasses I used to hide under have disappeared, but those stupid cats keep walking round and round the edge of the pond staring at me. I'm just going to ignore it all and enjoy the weather.  Pass the sunblock #zenfrog

They will never recognise me in this cunning disguise

Decanting

Where is everybody?

Monte GIVE IT UP, you are making them nervous........

Temporary accommodation........

New liner in and reasonably  straight.........

Putting the frogs back into their old liner while waiting for the water to acclimatise so we could fill the new liner tomorrow without poisoning them

Helping out.....................not.

Slight technical hitch - while taking out the old pond edge we found a bumblebee nest. They were not too pleased. So we had to cease operations and move  them into an old nuc box then wait till they calmed down before we could put the new liner in - fortunately they got the idea quite quickly and seemed none the worse..........