I can only marvel at May and what it has brought to the garden...
As the trees have become fully-leaved, the boundaries of the garden have softened and it has closed in on itself and anyone walking through it, enveloping everything in the luxuriance of recent growth. A mixture of gentle warmth and equally gentle rain has made magic, transforming the garden from youthful spring to eager early summer, the garden poised to pounce into full-blown abundance .
Ducking under and brushing past its fresh exuberance, come and ramble round with me, starting at the back of the house looking towards the sitooterie. Less exuberant than usual for this time of year are all the clematis, very evident here in the guise of the nearly naked trellis on the right; throughout the garden some have not emerged at all, whilst those that have are growing at a far slower rate than usual, unlike the roses which are very much ahead of themselves. I have managed to squeeze two new roses into the shrub border this year, but you would need to walk with me in person to get the full effect of them and will have to make do with the photographs below instead.
The paths through the woodland have recently been redefined by the addition of fresh bark, and walking through it reminds me what a successful feature this has become, the effect of a natural woodland but within the confines of a garden. The bothy at the end of it allows for a view over the bottom end of the garden, particularly the main borders, and this is also shown in the view from the back of the shed. There were still some gaps in these borders earlier in the year, but I have been working to plug them and hopefully progress will be visible later in the year. It is clear from the last of these three photos that the alliums have been very much earlier than their norm.
Moving on through the woodland edge border, viewed from both directions, the path all but disappears amidst the foliage and the mid-hedge is bulking out again after its severe hacking back, effectively screening the longer view.
Although I removed seed sown Stipa tenuissima from the grass border because it had become over-dominant, the remaining grasses are maturing nicely and the gaps are reducing. The same goes for the bold borders, where some plants have taken about three years to make a sizeable clump but are now beginning to make a statement, reminding me that patience is a virtue when planting up a garden, and explaining why it can take so long to become satisfied with a border.
Through the gate to the cutting beds, planted up just over a month ago. Of the annuals, only calendula are flowering so far but there are buds on the dahlias, so watch this space!
Finding a balance in the blue & white borders is an ongoing task, but maturity again helps to bring cohesion, whilst the stalwarts of echinops, delphinium and geranium have made a huge contribution in the meantime. A grouping of blue & white pots makes a good contribution to the colour palette too.
Beyond these borders, the rose garden, despite its name, makes less of an impact than roses elsewhere, and I am not sure where to go with it; perhaps underplanting would add additional interest? The main borders, however, are well and truly stuffed and any new planting would be at the expense of something less worthy; as the borders mature, a selective cull might actually turn out to be an improvement.
Heading back towards the house, the obelisk border, barely two years old, can be forgiven for its immaturity, but it is getting better, and I have added annuals to help bulk out the herbaceous backbone. It will always suffer from the shade of the hedge behind it, limiting plant choice.
Although the wisteria frequently suffers from the unwelcome attention of woodpigeons, this year it hasn't, and the results have been mind-blowingly wonderful, particularly down the side of the house where we have only had a few racemes in previous years. Sadly, the display is over now, leaving us with the unenviable task of sweeping up spent petals
Finishing off our ramble, we can visit the Coop, tidied up and swept out ready for our June visitors, and the Coop Corner, both in need of more colour, although pots of streptocarpus will soon help remedy that in the Coop.
If you are confused about how these different parts of the garden fit together, you can check out a map of the garden under The Garden tab above, where you can also find aerial photographs to enhance your understanding of its unusual layout.
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