MId May in the Garden - Six on Satuday

I can't believe how quickly one forgets all those beautiful snowdrops and even wonder where they were.  Finding spots where to plant other things becomes tricky!  I think the garden has too much, and it is a question of editing, which I may cover next week.  Here are six topics to share and as usual these are linked into Jim our 'Master Gardener', where should you wish to find out what real gardeners are up to, I am sure you will find much to inspire and entertain you.

1. For the summer months, all the succulents  are decanted from the conservatory, either to around the house or out into the garden.  For now 'The Shelf' is home to as many as I could fit on it

2. Until just recently 'The Shelf' had been  home to the auriculas.  Now these have been moved to the shady side wall, and the last to flower is Primula 'Robert Lee'.  Although it is nice to have a late one like this, the ideal would be to have five varieties that flower at about the same time to have that wow factor.  The lopsided effect is on account of it having few leaves blackened at the base, most probably from too much rain.  I've since cut the crown and bloom off as I could see some healthy side shoots, and am hoping that will save the plant.  The flower stem and flowers are really strong. 

3. When the sun is shining and skies are blue, a little white lace goes a long way as in this Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’.  Although the flowering period is brief this stands out nicely in the narrow patch in the front garden between us and our neighbours, who gladly accept my gardening of both sides of the boundary.

Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’

 4. At the HPS plant sale earlier this year, someone arrived with a tree peony that they had grown from seed. I had no idea what its flower would be like, or where I would put it in the garden, I hadn't even any experience of growing these, but I did like the leaves!  An impulse buy which I justified as being a £10 donation to the HPS.  Here is the bloom: any ideas?

5. The front is looking quite smart with a variety of shrubs such as this cistus, which help with the 'Mediterranean Look'.  I don't water any of the garden and they are ideal on the sunny and very clayey soil.

Amongst the shrubs,  these aquilegia just self sowed themselves from somewhere, and since I like them I have left them to do their thing.  I quite like their leaves even when not in flower.

One of the things I have kept on top of this year is the clipping of the Golden Lonicera which are just curvy mounds.

6.  I'm late sowing vegetable seeds this year, but I have forgiven myself.  However I was very pleased I repotted up the sweet peas individually.  

Individually potted Sweet Peas ready to be planted

Mandy slipped in a packet of seeds of 'Mrs Bernard Jones' into her Christmas Card.  I had about twice as many plants as I had room for so when my friend Maggie who has just moved in nearby said that she would be missing her Sweet Peas, my dilemma of having too many was solved. Here am I with Maggie, Janette and Jane, took together showing off our Willow Obelisks. , which we had made at a workshop held at another friend Alison whom I had met through In a Vase on Monday and who now runs a local flower farm.

I am striving to plant out pots, and reduce their numbers as the garden was starting to look like a plant nursery.  Also this week, I passed over all my carnivorous plants: all different forms of Sarracenias to my neighbour's two sons, and was completely surprised by how excited young teenagers were to take them over. 

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and this time Mr S came

Isn't it strange, I could be sure that Mr S came with me the first time I went to these beautiful gardens.  Just to prove that this time he came....

It was a chilly but dry day, and I think we just about went everywhere.  They were at least a couple of weeks behind in the flowering time compared to the south face of the Mendips, which quite surprised me at the gardens are further south and closer to the sea.

The long border had yet to have much on interest, but there were some rather lovely plantings in other parts of the garden, and several plants of interest:

Spirea trilobata with it attractive fresh green leaves had a great form. Of course the flowers are yet to come. 

Deutzia x rosea 'Cherry Dream has an elegance in form and the most striking of flowers.

More to follow......

Poppy Seed and Rye Bread

 Late yesterday evening, these three beauties came out of the oven.  I was inspired to try these when I read a post by another member of Bake with Jack Home Baker's Club, who had posted on the forum about trying these loaves again.  I haven't yet tried all the special recipes that Jack had videoed, and as a relatively new member of the club, one is able to access all the breads since this club and forum was launched.  

I didn't have shop bought poppy seeds, but I did have a large bowl of the seed heads from last year's poppies in a bowl on the sideboard and these were emptied.  The seeds are a little finer that the commercially available seeds, but fine.  In the absence of J Cloths for the dampening of the bread prior to rolling them in more poppy seeds, I dampened a piece of muslin and this did the trick beautifully.  The smell is divine, and two are in the freezer and we shall be tasting the other at our tapas style lunch today.  Mr S is going in for his '252'  at his archery club this morning!