So many things are happening now, in the garden, but some of the most spectacular are the spring trees and shrubs. Here is a small selection of what is currently giving me pleasure.
Good old-fashioned Laburnum. This tree is currently home to a family of blue tits. When I get home, it’s a real pleasure to sit in the car for a few minutes and watch the parents bringing in fat caterpillars for the babies.
Fabulous every year is the Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’, or Snowball Bush. Behind is the white lilac with a fragrance that fills this part of the garden. And underneath is an enormous pile of wood chippings, from my neighbour’s pollarded weeping willow, and that’s going to be just what I need this autumn.
Still looking for a home is this Hulthemia rose, ‘For Your Eyes Only’. It’s doing well, considering that it’s in a pot.
Also still looking for a home, and still in a pot is a second Hulthemia rose, ‘Eyes For You’.
I really thought I’d lost this over the winter, and this first pair of flowers made me smile. It’s Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’.
The last flower on the tree peony, flanked by Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’ on the right, and on the left the purple gromwell, which Kew calls Lithospermum purpureocaeruleum, and the RHS calls Buglossoides purpurocaerulea, and I call pretty.
It ought to be a shrub! In front of the ash tree is this ornamental rhubarb, Rheum palmatum. It’s next to the cess pool and seems to be thriving.
Tomorrow I’ll have a look at what’s going on in the gardening groups’ gardens. They’ve sent me loads of pictures!
The Pleasure Gardener 
This is a lovely selection of plants. How long do your tree peony flowers last?
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Thank you! Sadly, the tree peony flowers don’t last any longer than ordinary peonies. This year, I think the heat has made them go over even more quickly than usual, so less than a week. But at least the leaves on that one are fairly pretty…
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Also, thank you for introducing me to the Hulthemia rose. It’s beautiful! I love the colour contrasts. How did I miss that one?!
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:~)) Well, they are fairly new. They’re marketed as being free from the usual rose diseases. I’ve only had my three for about a year, but so far, they have shown no sign at all of black spot, rust or powdery mildew. For once, the marketing seems to be true.
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