PLANTS IN FLOWER: Tibetan Tree Peaony; Hardy Geranium; many types of Tulip notably masses of 'Spring Green'; May Blossom; Blackthorn; Bluebells; Chives & Camassia
This year has seen one the hottest, driest Spring periods on record. Only a few weeks ago the local farmer predicted a very dry spell based on the old country rhyme:
" Oak before Ash you are in for a splash,
Ash before Oak, you are in for a soak!"
The saying means that if the ash tree bursts into leaf before the oak then there will be plenty of rain. But, this year since the oak trees came into leaf well before the local ash trees, the prediction was for a very dry start to the year. And it has turned out to be true...
Already there is hardly any water flowing in the stream while all around in the fields and garden the ground is quite parched. On the other hand, the heat has brought the flowering time of many plants forward by as much as a few weeks. In previous years, the giant yellow Tibetan tree paeonies in the courtyard have flowered towards the end of May, whereas this year they were in glorious full bloom by the second week! Likewise, the bluebells in the woods that usually do not flower until towards the end of the month were already turning the woodland blue by mid May. The hellebores, on the other hand did not enjoy the unusually warm, dry weather. Since they tend to thrive in moist, cool conditions, they did not bloom as well as in previous years - nor was their show so long lasting.
In the main southern border, the mass of herbaceous plants are springing up happily, including Ladies Mantle, Geraniums, Day Lilies, Siberian Iris and Alliums. The area around the pond is also beginning to emerge from it's Winter cloak with the Water Lilies and Japanese Iris sending out plenty of new green shoots. The water in the pond however, still has the tendency to turn green and I have ordered a solar powered system to help avoid this from happening.
But my main obsession this year is the the new vegetable garden. Infact, as the result the rest of the garden has been rather neglected! By the end of the month the whole' potager' is pretty much completed, with all the new deep beds filled with soil, and most of them planted up. I want to have a bed for artichokes, one for asparagus, a strawberry bed and one specially for growing cut flowers. I will see how easy it is to keep up once the season progresses ...