Things are Growing

We've been working hard in the garden, it seems to take over at this time of year. We spent two days really working hard in both the house and garden so that it would all look good for some people who were coming to view the house but a couple of hours before they were due they cancelled because they had changed their minds. It is all so disheartening. What has pleased me this week are the little seedlings below. It looks as though we will have some lovely sweet peas this year. We used to grow them every year, once in hanging baskets which looked wonderful through the summer. For the last couple of years we hadn't bothered to plant them but this year I decided that I really wanted to see them again in the garden.

Also coming along after battling with snails and keeping them in pots are the lupins. I love flowers like lupins and delphiniums and I long for a border with them all waving in the summer breeze but I'm afraid it won't work in our garden because of the clay soil and also because of the huge appetite of the snails and slugs.

On friday the roses below were tight little buds by yesterday afternoon they were in full bloom, with many buds still to come; it looks as if it will be a good years for roses.

The yellow flag iris are in flower as is the blue iris. The alchemilla molis seems to be taking over by the pond.

The Ceanothus tree is also in flower. The flowers on this one are a paler blue and the leaves are variegated, it is known as Ceanothus Eldorado. It was bought for me as a small plant about 2ft high when I left the college where, after many years working in museums, I had worked in Adult Education. It was just part of the present I was given and for the first couple of years it was kept in its pot as I didn't want to lose it but eventually we planted it and look at it now; it does need some serious pruning I think.