It's been a mixed start to spring this month. We've had some beautiful warm, sunny days, and also rain, gale force winds, thunderstorms, sleet and hail. It's been exciting weatherwise but not so good for the early performers. The blossom on the almond tree was half knocked off by hail and finished off by wind, and the daffodils have been pummelled. Fortunately there are some hardy souls throughout - Miss Rose Chiffon the miniature peach tree (pictured top left) has kept her blossoms on, and there are ever present pansies cheerfully blooming away. The potted pulsatilla*, mostly kept for it's spotty foliage, has put out shoots of quirky pink and blue flowers. The first ranunculus are pushing through, although slugs and snails are finding them tasty.
I always like the look of a group of assorted glass bottles with flowers in them, and springtime is one of the best times to achieve this display (mostly thanks to the wild abundance of grape hyacinths). To break up all that blue, I put in the first pink carnation buds of the season. Height and fragrance come from some stems of earlicheer daffodils.
This post is linked to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. What is blooming in your patch this September?
*Edited to add... it's actually pulmonaria not pulsatilla. So many plants with 'p' names to trip me up... pulsatilla, pulmonaria, penstemon, platycodon. In general I prefer common names but the common name for pulmonaria is lungwort which is kind of gross! However, lungwort it now is!
*Edited to add... it's actually pulmonaria not pulsatilla. So many plants with 'p' names to trip me up... pulsatilla, pulmonaria, penstemon, platycodon. In general I prefer common names but the common name for pulmonaria is lungwort which is kind of gross! However, lungwort it now is!