The rainy weather has continued through May, but it's feeling warmer now and there has been some sunny spells too. I always think of May as being a green month, a time when the plants in the borders fill out, the buds on the trees open up and everything looks so fresh and green.
On the good weather days we've enjoyed sitting out admiring the garden while it's looking so lovely. Before long the early flowers will have gone over and I will have to start cutting back before the summer flowers appear.
One plant display I have been loving is the candelabra primulas. I'm glad I took a photograph of them while they were looking good because we had some really heavy rain one day along with strong winds which flattened the primulas and although they gradually recovered, they were never quite as good looking. Other plants are doing well though and the first rose on the Gertrude Jekyll has appeared and with lots of buds appearing we should have a good display through the summer.
I've done some planting of new plants in the borders. I thought I would try growing some dahlias this year, so I bought three plants. I hope they will provide some mid to late summer colour as well as being good as cut flowers, so long as the slugs don't get to them first.
Speaking of slugs, the Hostas are looking good at the moment. Some of them have slug damage, but I am keeping a close eye on them. I grow most of them in pots and I do have quite a lot of them. A few years ago I made a Hosta bed in the front garden, where we had a damp shady spot which had really awful soil and the grass didn't grow well. We took the lawn up in this spot and put a layer of bark chippings down. I decided I would put pots of plants on here and as I had so many Hostas then it could be a Hosta bed. I have acquired more Hostas since then--I have a gardening friend who has a collection of them and often splits them up to give away to friends. So most of the Hostas are displayed on this area of the garden. They seem to have less slug damage grown in pots on the bark mulch with a layer of grit on the top of the pots.
Some of the Hostas are arranged on the bark, some in the shade of the house wall and others grouped together in a corner of the drive.
I have been tidying up the Hosta pots this month, removing weeds, repotting or splitting up where needed. It was quite a job, but they are looking good now and I am now at the stage where I can give some away to friends.
So that was a busy month for me, hope you are all enjoying your gardens.
I am linking this blog post to Sarah's blog at Down By the Sea for her monthly Through the Garden Gate post.
