Sunday 12 May 2013

Softening the outlines

The harsh outlines of Winter have been replaced by the softer look of Summer. My micro-pond is rapidly disappearing in a welter of Lily of The Valley:


Just out of shot to the right there are two Tulip flowers.


 These are ones left over from a previous year. I certainly haven't planted any Tulips for several years now. I had forgotten about these ones, and I didn't even remember what colour they were. It looks as if they will be pink:


The Philadelphus tree / shrub that I pruned so severely last Summer is also smothered in fresh green shoots.


It still looks ugly at present, but hopefully in a few weeks time it will look OK. It couldn't really be worse than it was before I pruned it!

The Euphorbia is at its best right now. Green can be such a cold colour, but this shade of green is anything but cold:


The Golden Hops are romping away now, clothing the dull wooden fence panels with a fresh coat of zingy colour.


Talking of fence panels, the ones on the other side of the garden will soon be hidden by the rapidly rising Raspberries (how's that for alliteration?):


You can probably just see that I have put back up the wires which I had to remove when the fence was replaced a few weeks ago.

The ferns are also doing their thing.  Their brown, dessicated stumps are suddenly bursting into life and thrusting up lots of rapidly-uncoiling hairy new fronds...


12 comments:

  1. It doesn't take long for everywhere to green up once everything starts growing again. The pond looks great surrounded by lily of the valley.

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  2. I agree with Jo the pond does look great surrounded by lily of the valley. Mine is surrounded by rhubarb.

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  3. I am a bit in love with your Lily of The Valley pondscape. As it happens, I have two small pots of Lily of The Valley sitting in the courtyard waiting for a permanent place to live, and I suspect they might end up down by my "puddles" - three 90-litre plastic tubs sunk into the ground.

    Oh, and FYI: My puddles are great for attracting "good" wildlife like toads, newts, various insects and of course birds. I hope you - like myself - will find that pests become rarer with the addition of even a tiny spot of water in the garden.

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  4. When did you prune the philadelphus, Mark if it was a bit late you may have to forfeit this year;s flowers. I prune mine straight after flowering.

    Lily of the valley always seem to disappear in our garden which is a shame as it is my birthday flower! My mum always picked a small posy from the garden and popped it in a small vase on the table for my birthday morning. Little things you remember don't you?

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    1. Sue, I pruned the Philadelphus in July. With a bit of luck I'll get at least a few flowers this year.

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  5. Hi Mark, I love your mini pond. The one my grandsons made me has been such a pleasure. Yours looks especially nice with the Lily of the Valley around it.
    Things are certainly greening up there, too!! Happy Gardening!

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  6. Love the micro-pond idea, perfect way for me to add a small pond area while I decide how to fit in a larger one.

    Thanks for the idea!

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  7. I love the little pond with the lily of the valley. I love lily of the valley. Well I love most plants that have such a pretty scent. I wonder if I should put them in with the bamboo in the shade.

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  8. Our climate differences are interesting to me. Some of your stuff is way ahead of mine, but yet my ferns are fully leafed out.

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  9. All the plants look so fresh and Spring-like this time of year. I like the ferns unfurling.

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  10. Everything shooting up very fast as the weather gets warmer.

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  11. I planted lily of the valley last year - it has never reappeared sadly. I always prune philadelphus after flowering like Sue, you should have flowers next year.

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