THE WEATHER (and other stuff!) -

The first two weeks of the month were very dull, cold and wet for the time of year. By the 15th though, things were looking up, with warm summer weather (about time, too!). This continued for the following two weeks, with just the odd dull day here and there, and no rain, although nights remained unseasonably chilly! Trouble is, no rain = get the watering can out! With all the pots I've got, this is quite a job! Maximum temperature this month, 26°C (80°F), and minimum temperature 5°C (42°F).

Well I never!! I was clearing up some overgrown leaves in the garden when I suddenly noticed a spot of colour where there shouldn't be any! On closer inspection, it turned out to be this pot of Hyacinths which I bought in flower in spring, and which I put outside once they had finished flowering. I intended to plant them somewhere so that they could come up again next year, and left them up a corner to die down. BUT...... they had decided not to wait till next spring, and two of the three had flowered again, with the third bulb showing a bud just poking up through the foliage. They are also throwing out new foliage! I've never known this to happen before - it's very strange!

Now that I have some trellis on the gazebo, I decided to plant a Clematis. I've tried Clematis before, and never had much luck with them for some reason. I bought this Clematis 'Pink Fantasy' last autumn, and planted it. I was really pleased when it didn't die, but threw out lots of lovely new shoots, each one topped with a beautiful flower! (The other one I planted doesn't look too happy though!!!) It hasn't grown very tall this year, but I'm hoping it will make lots of growth for next year and eventually cover the trellis.

Cephalaria gigantea is, as its name suggests, a giant of a perennial. It is hardy, and grows to around seven or eight feet tall in my garden, and has wonderful yellow scabious-like flowers on long stems, which are ideal for cutting. I grew mine from seed a few years ago. It's a bit of a self-seeder though, and has managed to pop up all over the place!

This is a great plant! It is a hardy perennial, called Phytolacca americana, which has these interesting greeny-white flowers, which later on, develop into spires of shiny black berries, which are great for something different in your flower arrangement. I have this in the south-facing border, but this particular plant is coming up in the crack between the paving on the patio! Goodness knows how it got there, as the parent plant is a long way from the patio! Be careful if you grow this, though, as all parts of the plant are poisonous.

Deutzia scabra 'Candidissima' is a strong-growing deciduous shrub which is covered in pure white double flowers at the moment. A few years ago, one of my flower arranging students bought some in to use in her arrangement, and I fell in love with it, so scrounged a small piece and got it to root. She didn't know what it was called, and I had never seen it before, but I finally managed to find out its name! Since then, it has grown considerably, and is a beautiful sight every summer.

I love plants with beautiful foliage, and this one fits the criteria! It is a climbing plant called Parthenocissus henryana, and has wonderful velvety purply-brown leaves with silver veins. I saw a picture of it in a book years ago, and immediately wanted one! This is growing up the wall at the front of the house. It is self-clinging, so doesn't need a trellis to help it to climb.

As usual, here's a view of the garden for you. This is a view of the garden which is the steep slope from level 2 to level 4, although it's difficult to appreciate the steepness in this picture. It is quite shady, and this part overlooks the pond. The terracotta head has weathered quite well, and is surrounded by various ferns. In flower is Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'. The big fern in the foreground is the native Hart's Tongue Fern, Asplenium scolopendrium, showing lovely fresh new growth, and the pond is actually just in front of this, about 2 feet below. The Asplenium has reproduced itself in lots of different areas in the garden, where it is shady and damp, but it's such a lovely fern that I leave it alone, unless it's growing somewhere really silly!

That's all for this month...... Happy Gardening!!

Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Large White, Green-veined White.

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Jay, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Swallow, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.