GARDEN UPDATE.

Warm days, but the nights are chill. Most mornings there is a light frost. I thought I had lost this hellebore but she has managed a bloom. Harrington Double White is all I thought she would be.

Narcissus 'Thalia'.......I wish I had planted more.......she is slightly dazzling in this photograph. I could not get the light right. Can you see that tiny insect on the bloom?

This is Narcissus cheerfulness..........she certainly makes me feel cheerful.

I cannot believe how many Fritillary have survived this year. Rabbits love them. They are growing amongst red campion, perhaps that is the answer.
I am not sure where this Aquilegia came from. It looks like a double....cannot wait for it to open.

Aquilegia Chocolate Soldier is fully opened. The scent is truly lovely.
Pieris 'forest flame' is a pretty shrub. The perfume is very similar to lily of the valley.
Sambucus 'black lace' is another shrub that does very well here. I have added several new plants to fill gaps.........I do love the colour.

I have added five peonies to the borders. This one I cannot wait to see bloom....Paeonia lactiflora 'Shirly Temple' This perennial has pale pink, almost white, double flowers.

Marsh Marigolds have been added to the pond and are covered in buds.......

Epemedium x Versicolor is blooming well......tks to Mr P and the cloches. I love the hairy leaves.

Euphorbia Characias......a new addition, I am slowly falling in love with Euphorbias. I never realised what a statement they make.....

Euphorbia amygdaloides var robbiae.......I think that is right. I shall let these plants re-seed around the garden.

Arum Italicum....you may remember me planting these in the spring. They are doing well and looking lovely in the borders.

I had to cover Angelica at first....the rabbits seems to like the young growth. Each night I covered them with upturned flower pots.......and now they are gorgeous, green and lush. The island bed is full of them.....so exciting.

Ribbon grass.......I love the pink stripe in this one. I have been very selective with grasses.....I have lost many to rabbits.

Many small conifers did not survive the rabbit and winter damage. I have removed them. I wanted to put something back that was evergreen. I chose Phormium 'Apricot Queen'. This is a dwarf variety and has a weeping habit. The leaves on this plant have a lovely apricot flush......eventually they mature to yellow, margined with green and bronze. I was not too sure at first but they are fitting in perfectly with the planting scheme.

At last, a tulip in bloom. They are very late this year.....but this is hopefully the first of many.

All the silver birch that Poppi and I planted are in leaf. A wonderful addition to the garden.....

And finally.....what garden would be complete without a dandelion or two or maybe more....

The journey with the garden gets better each day....many new additions are waiting in the wings......blue lupins, blue and black iris, allium purple sensation, echinacea white swan and lots lots more. Can't wait to show you.......