The end of the month view is decidedly pastel ! Pale fresh greens, yellows and pinks lurk round every corner, punctuated by the richer colours of the tulips.
Usually I start my EOMV garden walk at the bottom of the garden and walk up to the house, but this month, I am doing it the other way round. Who says I can't think outside the box !
The photo above shows Betula Jaquemontii with its beautiful white bark, which is even better for a quick clean! We have recently bought a couple of solar spotlights which, despite my Eeyore - like predictions, work very well, and light it at nights, making it glow in an almost ethereal way .
The grey- green mound of foliage is Hebe 'Pewter Dome', which keeps its chin up whatever the British climate throws at it. The yellow at the back is Kerria Japonica, the pale pink is Bergenia, and the stronger pink is self seeded Honesty.
Friends gave us these two lovely old chimney pots, which remained intact throughout a long journey, only to roll and become damaged during the turn into our road ! In the small pots on the table are various Sempervivens, and the large pots contain hemerocallis, Agapanthus and Hostas.
The greenhouses are groaning under the weight of tender young plants, and I have moved lots of larger things out, to give more room. I am hardening off my rose cuttings from last year, and miniature roses grown from seed sown in January this year (Rosa 'garden Party'), before planting them out.
I have posted recently about the Auriculas, which are now in flower, which you can link to here , 'Auricula spectacular' , if you would like to.
The large tender plants, which have over-wintered in the greenhouse, have been moved out and are getting a breath of much needed fresh air again !
This bed is ready for an overhaul, as the plants are having to vie for space, and the thugs, like the Lamium, are busy planning a total take-over.
Aquilegia buds are swelling now, and the self seeded plants have popped up in all sorts of places.
One of the dependable stalwarts - Erysimum - plus a HUGE dock leaf, which I have just noticed !
The photo above shows David Austin's English rose "Geoff Hamilton', with Sambucus 'Black Lace' behind and Euphorbia Amygdaloides Purpurea to the left .
Above and below - new growth on Gallica rose hedge 'Charles de Mills', underplanted by the extremely mildewed, and sad looking Rosa 'garden Party', grown from plug plants last year.
Oh dear, my least favourite plant in the whole garden! Why did I plant it ? I just can't think ! I hate the way it resembles raspberry ripple ice cream. My usual rule is that I don't do bi-colours, so I don't know how it slipped through.
Now you're talking ! One of my favourites ! Tulip 'Queen of the Night'- all dark and luscious !
Edging geraniums are still under control at this time of the year, very soon they will be lanky, unruly teenagers, sprawling all over the place!
The photo above shows the weeping birch and the poor old Acer, which longs to grow big and tall, but has to put up with me constantly checking its growth.
The stunning bark of Prunus Serrula, with the border edging of Festuca (grown very cheaply from seed), Piceas and a Lonicera desperate for a haircut !
This shot is looking back up to the house, through the subtropical garden. It is just coming to life, and (phew!!) the Tree ferns seem to have made it through the winter, and they, plus all the ferns, are sending out new fronds.
The Gunnera is deceivingly small at the moment but will soon morph into a monster. It is bottom right in the photo above, and one of the new leaves is pictured below.
The fronds of the Tree fern looking distinctly primeval.
The baby apple trees in the orchard are in blossom, and I am kicking myself for not making a note of the variety of each tree!
The pond is a seething cauldron of life and we saw our first newt in there a few days ago.
Well, Spring has definitely sprung, and has done so spectacularly, putting us, I reckon, a couple of weeks ahead of the norm. Some of my roses are already budding and will be flowering before long, which is much earlier than usual.
It is such a fantastic time of year that I want to spend every minute of every day out here, listening to the frogs and the birds and the lawn mowers ...
Thankyou, as usual to Helen at The Patient Gardener for hosting the EOMV mem, and if you care to hop over there, you will find much to interest you !