This week’s garden favourites

Northerly winds followed by damaging frost then easterly winds – plants in our garden have to be tough to stand up to current weather conditions.  Sadly the frost nipped new growth on many plants, shrubs and trees including newly planted Acers and Hydrangeas, however I can’t be downhearted for too long as there is still so much to enjoy.

Camassia bulbs naturalising in the orchard are just coming into flower.   I just hope that rabbits don’t like the taste of them! Rabbits always come into the orchard from neighbouring farmland and we don’t mind a bit, but having recently found a very plump one sitting in the middle of the garden we have spent a bit of time replacing wire netting along one boundary and raising the height of the wire between the garden and orchard.

Another favourite flower, albeit a wildflower and a weed to many, is Queen Anne’s Lace, which sounds so much nicer than Cow Parsley!  The roadside verges around us are full of this pretty flower and I dread the sound of a tractor coming along to mow it in its prime and yes I am the mad woman who runs out at the first hint of a tractor to pick it.   I would much rather see a jug full of it in the fireplace than it be flattened. It grows around the edges of our garden and I am trying to encourage it to spread in the orchard. I hope one day to see it flowering in abundance among the fruit trees.

Wisteria is in full flower and the scent is intoxicating,   on a sunny day with a window open the scent pervades the house.  Alliums are just opening and attracting plenty of bees.  One more favourite for now is Geranium Mary Mottram which has beautiful white flowers  I have it growing both in sun and light shade and it seems happy in both situations and is gently spreading.