Through the Garden gate--May 2021

What awful weather we have had during May, I believe it has been the wettest May for a long time. The garden seems to have enjoyed all the rain, though. I have been amazed at how quickly plants have grown.  The borders have filled out and not only do they look good it means that I don't have to weed so much. That's the benefit of cramming loads of plants together.

In the  raised bed are some clumps of  Chaerophyllum Hirsutum 'Roseum' or pink cow parsley which I brought as cuttings from my previous garden. They have taken a while to get established and this seems to be the year when they have decided to make a good show of themselves.  They look beautiful next to the alliums which are starting to open up now and the blue perennial cornflower.

Another lovely plant similar to the pink cow parsley is Myrrhis odorata or Sweet ciceley. This is in the front garden and hangs over the wall. It has lovely creamy white flowers, delicate feathery foliage and smells lovely. Can you see Holly the cat hiding underneath?

The hardy geraniums are starting to flower, I keep spotting little blue flowers here and there. I have quite a few geraniums in the garden of different colours and they flower at different times.  Some are short flowering, others keep going throughout the summer.

This is Persicaria, a tall pale pink variety, I don't know its proper name. It came in a big pot which I was able to split into 4 and plant around the garden. It does spread itself about though and I have been trying to dig some of it up. Much as I love its pink flowers I don't want it taking over the garden.

The Aquilegias are in flower now. These self seed over the garden, but they are so dainty I'm quite happy to let them.

This little corner was planted up two years ago. It's a shady area next to the holly tree and I got the planting idea from a gardening magazine. The colour scheme is blue, white and yellow. At the moment  the Dicentra is in flower, it has put on a fabulous show all on its own. The Aquilegias are just opening up now, they are blue and white. Still to come are white Camassias and blue Geraniums. The yellow colour is kept going throughout the summer with the  Hostas and Alchemila mollis.

In the last week the lilac near the front door has come into flower. The gorgeous smell wafts around the garden.

With the weather being so unlike May I hadn't realized it was time to start planting up my patio containers with summer bedding plants. So my job for the next week or so is to go to the garden centre, get the plants and plant them up.

I am linking this post to Sarah's blog at 'Down By the Sea' for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate' post