Garden in Early May

 

Last year I rescued the Camassia leichtlinii Caerulea. I had pulled it out of the border thinking it was a bluebell but found the bulb in the compost heap. It was originally planted in 2020 (see post 19th May 2021) and here it is thriving again amongst the forget me nots. Below are the  Grape Hyacinth or Muscari latifolium that I similarly mentioned two years ago.

One of the bulbs I described in the same post was the Fritillaria meleagris. It is not really in the right place but there are still signs of life.

I'm amazed that the Hosta Fire and Ice below, that looked dead over winter have grown again and looking good. 

However, the maypole cherry had very little blossom this year, possibly because of it sticking up well above the fence and susceptible to those successive heavy frosts. Fortunately it now looks great with the rust coloured leaves.

The dwarf malus (Wisley Crab) that I pruned last year has never looked better with the pink blossom. In front with the light green leaves is the Weigela Red Prince that I also pruned hard and I'm waiting to see if it flowers later. It has these giant crab apples in the late summer. See post 20th September last year.

The Clematis Montana has been a bit of a disaster. Although I had installed wires on the wall to support it, the top came down in the wind. I think that the shrub growing at the back did not help. Two years ago I gave it a heavy prune (post 15th July) and last year it improved. So for the first time I have now pruned all the branches leaving just the main stem. We shall see if it survives.

Last year I split the yellow Iris in the main border and planted some in a pot. It seems to prefer it here.

This was how the main border looked in February.

And now in early May. There is hardly any colour at the moment, but all the perennials are doing well. The Alliums are just coming into flower.

This year I tied supports for the Cornflowers so hopefully they will survive any windy weather. the bees love them.