Sunday 26 May 2013

Garden, Late May.



Garden - and herbs especially - going like the clappers with all the rain we've been having. It is so tempting every morning to whip out the camera and record the progress, but there are only so many pictures of green things growing you can blog about!


        The Clematis doing quite nicely, waiting to be joined by the rose on the other side.


The lovely Aquilegia / Columbine /Granny's Bonnet nod at me as I walk past - these are the seeds of some very old plants brought from my sister Diana's 3-houses ago house, still going strong. You can just make out the tiny white flowers of the eyebright I planted years ago, and soon the geranium / cranesbill will be filling the garden.


Sorrel, rocket and Welsh Onion, which I planted doing really well- the sorrel will come up year after year, and makes a lovely sharp, lemony addition to a salad.


Looks a bit of a hotch - potch over this side, but it all makes sense when the flowers are out. I really do NOT like the grasses which Jim added, just wispy untidy bits of nothing to my mind, but there you go, not as intrusive as the Dratted Beech sapling!

I'd love to say we've been enjoying sitting out in all this lush greenness, but despite the sunshine, the wind is quite cool, and it's no pleasure sitting about, or eating, when you aren't warm enough! Hopefully (PLEEEEEEESE) we will have some real Spring/Summer weather soon. I know some of you have had better temperatures than others - I got caught in FOUR hailstorms the other day, and the temperature varied between 4 and 8 degrees all morning. Weird.

Just a quick little post today, but I couldn't let these photos go to waste! Hope you can all enjoy your gardens this Bank Holiday.

16 comments:

  1. I'm completely smitten with my garden at the moment - it's been a long time coming! I think over the years I must have grown just about every herb but I've never tried sorrel - looks interesting, especially if it's something I can add to salads. Hope you're going to be able to sit out and enjoy some warmth today! Jane x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane, sorrel is incredibly easy to grow, and once you've got it, you've always got it! Though it is not a rampant spreader, it just comes back as it is, each year. Cut the leaves a s they come and stop the flowering or it will just get leggy and the leaves are puny. I bought these as plantlets from a nursery. I understand you can make soup etc with them but they just go grey and gloopy when I cook them!
      Fingers crossed for sunshine! Lx

      Delete
  2. May is my favourite month in the garden: new leaves on the alchemilla mollis, aquilegias - self-seeded. Everything looking young, green and lush. Your garden's looking lovely, Lynne :)
    Yesterday was the first day I stayed out in the garden in a sleeveless top.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is pretty well the best time, isn't it - bearing in mind we are about a month behind - there are some lovely flowery times ahead - before it all goes to pot! Lx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Lynne and thank you for your comment on my blog. Your garden looks lovely , there's certainly plenty going on. I've enjoyed reading all your posts on this page and I'll certainly come back for more. You asked a question about Nick Oldham being his real name and I'm afraid I don't know but he has his own website - http://nickoldham.net with more information about him. I'm just going to do a post about another book. The author had to change her name as her real name was already the name of a famous author.
    Love from Mum
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for popping across, Mum! I was thinking he might have taken a 'nom de plume' with his name being Oldham - as in the place, but of course, if he is a local lad he may very well be called after a nearby town, mightn't he? I definitely will check out his books - am looking for a new author to get my teeth into! Be seeing you! Lx

      Delete
  5. Your garden looks beautiful, Lynne. I love all of your herbs and I want a clematis, I don't have one in my garden yet. I love May, too!
    Dorothy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dorothy, yes, it is blooming at the moment. You can't quite make out the colour of the clematis as it was a bit sunny (!!) when I took the shot - it has pink flowers. Lx

      Delete
  6. I must get some sorrel it sounds lovely! We've been in our garden over the last 2 days, finally stared the veg bed, with a little help from a man and his spade, well actually it's my spade but I let him borrow it! If it stays nice tomorrow I'll move a few plants around! Then sit in the sun! (Hopefully!) :) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so generous with your gardening tools,Ada, and if I had any I would be too! I'm NOT a gardener. But I love my sorrel, and this year I planted some extra, hopefully away from the snails who love it also. Easy to grow, four or five leaves in a salad, torn up, ymmy. I'm hoping for sunshine this side of the county tomorrow, for my little musical soiree (in the tea tent!!).

      Delete
  7. Everything in your garden is blooming and looking lovely and lush. We have a clematis climbing up the front of the garage and last year hubby butchered it so its looking a little sorry for its self at the moment with just a handful of flowers. Fortunately I stopped him before he got to the Honeysuckle!

    I think I might have to try some Sorrel, I've never had any but I'm always on the look out for a different taste to salads.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Karen, oh dear, hope the clematis recovers! Jim finally took drastic action with our climbing rose, which had become very very straggly. It's done the trick.
      Yup, try the sorrel. Hey, I should have shares in wild garlic and sorrel futures! Lx

      Delete
  8. I actually like grasses a lot. We have lots of different ones in the garden, ranging from gorgeous coppery brown ones about 10 inches tall, bright green with feathery top ones a few inches taller, right up to the tall Stipa at six foot plus. The smaller ones dotted amongst the flowers and herbs make a lovely contrast, and in winter when frosted keep interest and colour going in the otherwise almost barren borders. And when they get to look a bit desiccated, well, just chuck them out. They grow babies in the gravel so there is always replacements!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Maggie, I do get ow the architectural shape of grasses adds a different dimension to a garden, but I just don't like them - even less so when they end up looking wispy and straggly.Lx

      Delete
  9. Good morning Lynne, your garden looks wonderful. I need to look for Sorrel, and plant some in my garden. It grew wild back in Indiana and I used to pick it as a child and eat it while out playing in the woods. The funny thing is that I never knew the name of it until I was an adult. It does have a lovely and distinct flavor.
    I love your vines and Clematis is one of my very favorite :)
    Have a lovely week,
    Connie :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you never forget the taste of sorrel - and at least you can find it over there, unlike the Wild Garlic - oops! I'm going to fine myself every time I mention WG!Our long weekend was lovely, but now it is raining - what has happened to our spring?? Hope you are experiencing better weather, Connie. Lx

      Delete

I'd love you to comment, maybe join in the conversation - I always try and reply if I can.Anonymous spammers take note: you will not be published. Genuine posters having difficulty will be accepted. Thanks so much for visiting!