I love this time of year
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. From the end of the snowdrops, the first roar of the daffodils and the beginning of the tulips, through the bluebells and lilacs and up through the early roses to the (in my gardens rather terrifying) explosion of midsummer, is my favourite time of year. YESSSSSSSS. The days are suddenly long and there’s COLOUR everywhere again, not just the gallant flag-waving of a few stubborn pansies and my glorious little bright-yellow witch hazel.
I was trying to decide whether to give you more bluebells or what’s going on in my gardens. And since you had bluebells the last time* I decided on garden flash.
Speaking of pansies. The greeny-browny one is Irish Molly, and one of my all time favourites.
Knock your eyes out fringed yellow tulips. It doesn’t get any better. And note one of my unexpected plethora of fritillaries. I thought this one was dead. It didn’t come up last year! It’s sheer laziness that I hadn’t grubbed out that planter and started over. **
I'm failing to get the subtle gorgeousness of this one in a photo. The lavender is so pale you're not sure it isn't white.
Its name is MYFAWNNY. I had to go look it up. http://www.elizabethmacgregornursery.co.uk/index.php She has fabulous plants, just by the way, any of you gardeners in the UK, with a specialty in violas, although I’ve bought a lot of other stuff from her over the years.
Apricot Beauty. One of the fine old classics.
Don't know what these are. Well, yes I do. These are: Ohmigods I'VE JUST FOUND ANOTHER PAPER BAG WITH UNPLANTED TULIP BULBS IN IT. DO SOMETHING FAST.
Continuing on a theme of yellow. . . .
paeonia mlokosewitschii. Blerg. Yes, I had to look it up also.
This was put in by my predecessor. It takes up WAY TOO MUCH SPACE in the cottage’s table-mat-sized garden for something that is in flower about three weeks out of fifty-two . . . but I wouldn’t be without it. If she hadn’t put it in, I’d've had to. It’s funny what you find you can’t live without.
This is probably the best year it's had with me too. (Hmm. I wonder what I fed it last year.)
Yellow and orange . . .
Orange. The little tulips, which are going over, because I kept forgetting to take their picture, are a hot scarlet when open.
And, not orange at all, just AMAZING:
Its name is Quark. No, really.
I generally don’t do very well with iris. They produce long green leaves and that’s about it. But this one was so amazing in the catalogue I thought, oh well it’s only money.
And my photos are better than the catalogue's.***
If you look closely, there’s a bleeding heart peering through the green leaves at the top centre. I’ve got a white one too and they’re both going like runaway trains. I love this time of year.
To Be Continued.
* * *
** My gardening slapdashery is so often reinforced by this kind of thing there is no way I will ever reform.
*** Broadleigh Gardens, but get their paper catalogue if you’re interested. Their web site is a nightmare.
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