Paeonies, Poppies and Roses

These three plants have been the stars of the show for the last couple of weeks. I've been blown away by my Sarah Bernhardt Paeony this year as not only have the blooms been huge, there are also so many of them, 20 flowering together, and buds still waiting to open! It's been a bit of a nightmare to stake though, and I really must find a better solution than canes next year. One of the branches of the apple tree is doing a good job at holding a couple of the blooms up though.

And this was Paeony Shirley Temple. Only one flower, as it was newly planted into the area in front of the shed this year. I can't wait to see more of the gorgeous ruffled white blooms next year.

I still have one more paeony waiting to flower, only one bud to bloom again as it's another newly planted variety, but it looks like it will be a stunner!

As happy as I was to see my coral coloured Poppies, I was even happier to see these wonderful pink ones appear.

Not so happy to see two of these orange one though. They were a bit too bright for my liking, and, along with the red poppy, have been transplanted into a pot and moved to the front garden. I'll be saving the seeds from the pink ones to sow on next year.

The roses in my garden are all new additions this year.  I have to confess that I've never been a huge fan of roses before. They'd never be my first choice for a bouquet of flowers, and I guess that transferred into my choice of plants for the garden when I started it. Having seen some wonderful examples in the last few years though, especially at garden shows and from other bloggers, I decided to add some this year, and I'm so pleased I did. In fact, I think I may have been bitten by the rose bug, as I find myself looking for space now so I can add more.

This is my favourite rose so far, Arthur Bell Golden Bouquet, which has the most amazing fragrance and superb sunshine yellow flowers that repeat through to winter. It's in the sunniest part of the garden and seems to have settled in nicely.

This is a rambling Rose from David Austin called Malvern Hills. It's lightly scented, repeat flowering and said to be very disease resistant. I'm training this up a trellis to mingle with the clematis growing behind up the shed.

Rose Summertime is also flowering beautifully, even though it's just been moved. I originally planted it next to my bamboo in the shady area, and although it was growing really well, the hardy geranium, fern and bamboo were crowding it out. No point having a pretty rose if you can't see it, right? It's now growing next to the fence in front of the shed area and will, hopefully, blend with the other Clematis and mirror the Malvern Hills Rose.

I'm on the lookout for some pink roses now, and am saving my pennies for my next garden show visit. If you know any good varieties I should look out for, please let me know.

I've lost track of the names for the Hardy Geraniums I have, but they are fantastic for adding colour to the garden in summer, and they flower for so long. The only downfall is that they can sometimes get out of hand, but a good chop back sees them grow rapidly again and re-flower later in summer. I have dark pink, light pink and purple ones.

Rock Rose Cistus Sunset is another gorgeous pink brightening up the end of the garden, along with Ostrowskianum, the teeny Alliums.

The fruit and vegetable side of the garden is also doing well. I've been making salads for lunch with the Lettuce Leaves, Radishes and Spring Onions, and have had bunches of Spinach and Baby Chard added to dinners. The Tomatoes and Kale are coming along well, and the Courgettes and Cucumbers are growing quickly. There's also been lots of Rhubarb and masses of Strawberries, just in time for Wimbledon :-)