All change!

Just when you think you can sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour in the garden, you realise something's not quite right. Something is jarring on the eye. For me, it was this whole area in front of the shed. You can see how it looked when I first planted it up HERE, neat, tidy and full of promise. This is how it looks now after a week of cutting back, digging and re-planting.

The main change was removal of the Salix Willow you can see in the photos below taken last week and during Spring. I really love these trees, but this one had started crowding out everything with its dense canopy and it just had to go. 

It didn't like being moved much, and is now in a bit of a sorry state. I'm hoping it will recover though, as I want to keep it in this pot and have it on the patio. Fingers crossed!

And these are the new additions to the area. In place of the willow, I now have an obelisk for height. I've planted a clematis up one side named Corona which is meant to be perfect for growing up pillars and trellis, and a beautiful rose to the right called 'Lucky', which has just started flowering and smells delicious. It's a bush rose not a climber, but I couldn't resist it. I may add another Clematis next year but want to see how this one gets on first.

Asiatic Lily Gold and Oriental Lily Maru are adding a pop of colour in the border. So far free from the dreaded Lily Beetles that desecrated my fritillaries in spring, but I'm keeping my beady eyes on them!

Verbena Bonariensis is growing up against the shed along with Clematis Montana Freda which has romped away here and flowered beautifully in spring. The butterflies love the Verbena, although this first one got caught by a yellow spider crab that was laying in wait.

Alstroemeria and Coreopsis are mingling happily, and Lobelia is filling out its patch nicely.

Pickerel Hyacinths are just starting to flower in the wildlife pond, and the Lamiums are getting ready for their second flush of flowers.

I'm hoping Hydrangea Macrophylla Sheila will bring a bit of colour to the far left corner where I removed a large fern that wasn't very happy. It's a bit small at the moment, but should fill out quite quickly.

I've planted up some other things in this area, but they're mostly cuttings from other parts of the garden or very small plants, so there isn't much to see of them, but I'm really looking forward to this patch filling out with a bit more colour and interest as the year progresses. I'd like to say I stopped here, sat back with a cool drink and sunbathed during this glorious weather, but, no, I went and tackled a couple of other spots I wasn't in love with. More on that next time!

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Now you see it!

Things are changing so quickly in the garden just now, that it's hard to keep up with everything new that is blooming.

Alliums are definitely the stars of the show at the moment. From Purple Sensation, Nigrum, Cristophii, Globe Master, Chives and dainty Ostrowskianum, they are providing plenty of nectar for the bees and butterflies, and are quite the purple spectacle. I love the way you can just leave them to get on with it, and how they happily self seed and weave amongst the other plants.

Anemone Harmony Pearl seems to have been enjoying the sunny weather. This is a new addition to the garden, and I shall be nurturing it this year, ready to divide next year. It's such a beautiful colour, and I'd like little clumps of it dotted around.

Foxgloves are one of my favourite flowers, and they have self seeded everywhere this year. Just look at the delicious pale pink colour and speckles of this one. So pretty! Due to a mix up with one of my internet orders, I've  been informed that I'll be getting some free Illumination Pink Foxgloves sent to me soon. These are a perennial variety that flower for months. I'm really looking forward to comparing them with the traditional kind.

And result! One of the other Viktoria Luise poppies that I thought was also going to turn out red, has in fact bloomed the fantastic coral pink it was meant to. I can't tell you how happy that made me! The others are still waiting to bloom, but fingers crossed it was just one rogue red. Doesn't it go beautifully with the burnt orange leaves of xHeucherella Sweet Tea, an interesting cross between  Heuchera and a Tiarella.

Another Heuchera in bloom is Paris. The wispy pink flowers are so dainty, and the marbled leaves stay on the plant almost all year. My other Heucheras are only halfway to blooming at the moment.

Polemoniums have been blooming for three weeks now and are still looking good.

And the Astibles are busy brightening up the shady area. These are Breman and Europa.

Lamium Red Nancy and the gorgeous, richly vanilla scented Nemesia Sweet Lady are joining together to smother one of the wildlife pond borders. I could stand here all day sniffing in the perfume.

I have Nemesia Raspberries and Cream here too, and although the little flowers are beautiful, they have no scent. They do flower until Autumn though, so I guess that is the compromise. I'm hoping if I mulch these well after flowering, they may last over winter.

There are lots of lovely combinations in flower just now. The Verbascums are mingling nicely with the Hardy Geranium.

And in the shady area, Poppies, Foxgloves, Aquilegia and Hardy Geranium are all keeping company with the Marsh Marigold and Carex.

And the Aquilegias are still going strong. I am always sorry to see them finish blooming, so that late start to Spring has actually done me a favour this year as there are still many buds on the plants.

It looks like the sunny weather has finished for now (I really hope that week wasn't our summer!), but I am still spending nearly all my time in the garden, there is just so much to do at this time of year...and I LOVE IT!

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