THE WEATHER (and other stuff!) -

Well what a washout! Rain, rain and more rain, with strong winds thrown in for good measure! It's nice to have plenty of rain, as the plants grow so much better, but there's a limit! A cold start to the month, with ground frost on several nights for the first week. Monday 13th was the wettest day - heavy rain for almost the entire day! Strong winds on several days throughout the month knocked over my pots (again!). Torrential rain again on the 20th, and very strong winds on the 22nd, with heavy showers on and off for most of the day. The rest of the month continued very changeable, with a bit of sunshine but mostly showers, and very strong winds. Maximum temperature this month, 25°C (78°F), and minimum temperature 3°C (36°F).

Following on from last month's report on Nemaslug® biological control, which I applied in April, I can say that the product was extremely successful, and was effective against slug damage for six weeks, as claimed by the suppliers. Actually, it was probably effective for just over that time, as it was about a week later that I noticed a few holes appearing in my Hostas! I have ordered some more, as not having to worry for six weeks about slugs munching their way through your prize plants is worth every penny! If you would like to find out more about this product and order some, you can visit their website at www.nemaslug.com.

I hear that ferns are making a comeback this year. Well, for some of us, they never went away!! They are one of my favourite groups of plants; their shapes, colours and textures are so diverse. I have lots of different ones in the garden, and I'm always on the lookout for those I haven't got. Who says ferns aren't colourful? The one pictured here is Athyrium otophorum, and it's stunning at this time of the year. Its new growth is a beautiful pale yellow with maroon veins. The colours fade a bit as the plant matures, but nevertheless, it remains a very unusual fern. I have this growing on the terraced slope (more of a precipice really!) which dives down from level two to level four of the garden, by the pond. It gets sun for about half the day in the summer, and is in shade the rest of the day, and these conditions seem to suit it.

I'm always wittering on about this plant, Gunnera manicata, but I just love it! Look at its strange flower - deep red, and very spiky, emerging from the depths of prehistoric-looking foliage, whose stems bristle with spines. This isn't a plant you'd want to fall into accidentally.......

Whilst I was taking the photo of the Gunnera, Toby decided to come along and see what I was up to. He loves having his picture taken, so here he is!

This is a wonderful evergreen shrub, called Crinodendron hookeri. I bought mine two years ago when visiting Bodnant Gardens in Wales. When I spotted it for sale, my eyes lit up! It produced a few flowers last year, but this year, it is covered in lovely deep pink waxen bells. You could imagine a fashion-conscious Pixie picking one to wear on his head! I have this growing in a pot against a south-facing wall, as it is not too hardy. The yellow plant behind it is Hedera helix 'Buttercup', which is climbing up the wall.

I'm really pleased with this Enkianthus cernuus rubens this year. I don't know whether it is last year's weather conditions, or whether the plant has just matured enough, but it has been covered with flowers this year. It always produces a few, but never so many as this year. It is an acid-loving plant, related to Pieris, with clusters of waxy cream bells which look as if the edges have been dipped in pink paint! They last for ever as a cut flower too.

It's amazing how plants will colonize even the most inhospitable of places. This Aquilegia is growing straight out of a brick wall which runs alongside the drive at the front of the house. I don't know where it came from, as I don't have one of this colour in the garden. It's determined to be there, as it has reappeared after being weeded out last year. It's very pretty though, and I've decided to leave it there, as a reward for its tenacity! (Sorry about the picture quality - not one of my best!!)

This is Cornus kousa chinensis, a small tree which I've had for about 18 years. I bought it when it was about 3 feet high, and now it is about 12 feet high, with spreading tiers of branches. At this time of year, it is a mass of these lovely flowers - well, actually, the flowers are the green bit in the centre, the white "petals" are really modified leaves, called bracts. I have used this in flower arrangements, and it lasts a long time, if you take off the foliage first.

As usual, here's a view of the garden for you. This is the gazebo, and part of the south facing border. There's a large Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum variegatum) in a pot on the table inside the gazebo, and some galvanized lanterns hanging around the edge. The birds have two feeders especially for them, and there's usually a variety of birds here, as well as the local squirrels, who hang upside down to take the seeds from the top feeder. The bottom one contains peanuts in a wire cage, so the squirrels can't get at those! Believe it or not, there is a small path leading from the circular step into the gazebo, but this can't be seen in the picture, as the plants tend to hide it at this angle. There is a pink Azalea in flower, purple Aquilegia, and some blue Forget-me-nots (Myosotis), as well as Angelica archangelica (doesn't show up very well, though, being a green flower!). The large Viburnum rhytidophyllum behind the gazebo has just finished flowering, but was a picture earlier on this month. On the steps are some pots of Haworthia, a rosette-forming succulent. These are just forming flower buds now, and will flower in mid-June, with orange, bell-shaped flowers. The majority of this border contains summer-flowering plants and shrubs, so there's not a lot in flower in this picture at the moment.

I'm hoping to cut back some of the shrubs on the left-hand side of the gazebo, now that they have finished flowering, but I'll have to hurry up, or it will be too late (again!), but when you're a flower arranger, you're loathe to do it as you never know when you might need some foliage........

This is level 2 of the garden. The circular steps on the left of the picture lead down to level 3.

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, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Swallow, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.