Good weather at last! Warm sunny days have boosted growth in already moist soil and things are looking great! This shot of the middle garden captures the intensity of the late afternoon sun. The Thalictrum, in particular, has really enjoyed all the rain.
The China rose, Rosa mutabilis, is always early; her delicate floaty pink petals enjoying the conditions. This amazing rose will flower consistently from now until November without a break. I find it needs a bit of support but that may be because it is relatively young and hasn’t got a lot of roots to anchor it yet.
The evergreen Agapanthus africanus ‘Glenavon’ is excelling itself this year with 14 flower spikes currently, and possibly more to come. This usually means it is pot bound and ready to be divided! Overwintered completely dry in the cold greenhouse for 5 months, and then fed and watered like mad, seems to mimic the conditions it would find in its native South Africa. The only thing missing is fragrance. If it was pleasantly scented it would be amazing.
Easy to overlook, but shouting to be seen and heard is this tiny Euphorbia cyparissias peeping out beneath some Lysimachia ‘Firecracker’. An unintended combination, but a pleasing one nevertheless.
Thanks to this blog, a kind friend gave me some pink Hesperis matronalis last year to compliment my forest of white. I now have a modest quantity of both. It is a very pleasant native but can be a thug if it likes your garden. It seeds prolifically and would take over this border if I allowed it free reign. A very useful early spring flower to break up the mass of green. Pleasantly scented, particularly in the evening, as it is also pollinated by moths and other night flying insects as well as bees and butterflies during the day
.Another kind friend gave me what she thought were 4 white camassia bulbs which have turned out to be Anthericum liliago, commonly called St. Bernard’s Lilies. I grew them in a pot this year, but now I know what they are, I will find a suitable spot in the garden. The creamy white star shaped flowers do resemble camassia and they are in the same family, Asparagaceae.
And finally for this week, the earliest flowering Thalictrum in my garden is always this Thalictrum aquilegiifolium which found its way under the beech hedge some years ago and seems to enjoy the company. The frothy pink flowers are loved by bees and provide much needed early nectar. Easy to grow, tough as old boots and flowers for weeks on end.
Have a great weekend.
David
Davids Garden Diary 
None of my agapanthus are even close to producing flower spikes yet – yours is amazing! I took mine out of their pots a couple of years ago & put them in the ground, but I suspect that was a mistake:-(
Hi Helen. The Agapanthus currently in flower are the evergreen ones which always flower early in the year. The herbaceous ones, (also in big pots), are just leaves at the moment and will flower in July. I like to bring mine out for the summer but put the pot on their side behind the shed for the winter to avoid the crowns from getting too wet and rotting. That’s what kills them, not so much the cold.
Ah, that explains it! That’s useful to know about putting the pots on their side, I’ll have to try that, thanks:-)
I’ve got some in the ground and some in pots, in case you’re confused by my comment below!
The St. Bernard’s lily looks like it could have a place in my lily garden.
I have begun reducing the size of my photos for the blog. I use my phone, select photos for email, choose the appropriate size from the dropdown and then send them to myself. A little awkward but it works.
I am having second thoughts about the identity of the St. Bernard’s Lily. I distinctly remember planting 4 small bulbs, but Anthericum liliago is apparently fleshy roots like Agapanthus. So, they could be white Camassias after all!
Your idea for reducing the image size sounds good. No point in taking up more storage space than you really need. I download my camera pics on to the PC and work on them there. It is also where my folders are kept so I can transfer the ones I use and delete the rest.