How often do you see wild cherries these days? Way up in the Cotswolds above Naunton, about as high as it gets around here. Wonderful to see and delicious to eat!

What I now believe to be Rosa ‘Super Dorothy’ although I can’t be sure. Inherited with the garden, in an awkward spot by a gate, very thorny and very pretty.

I am always impressed with plants that come back from the Chelsea Chop like this Leucanthemum. More flowers, later flowers on shorter stems that don’t need staking. Win, win.

Fruit picking time! Wonderful crops of blackcurrants and strawberries this year so far, redcurrants and gooseberries still to come. Yum, yum!

Another of my ‘no-name’ plants inherited with the garden ten years ago. Looks like Phlox paniculata ‘Coral Flame’ but I actually think it is the long lost ‘Windsor’ which makes it a little special. Doesn’t get mildew either!

Finally, these pesky Hesperantha seedlings keep popping up all over the garden and always in places I don’t want them! Can’t bear to throw them away so more pots to give away!

I am indebted to https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/ for motivating me to get back to my own WordPress blog after several years absence. Like a lot of things in life, I was very enthusiastic to begin with but I ran out of steam and also re-discovered my love of golf!

This Prunella grandiflora, (large Self Heal), grown from seed two years ago, has now found a home in an awkward corner of my new rose garden and is happily flowering away. Its natural spreading habit will hopefully be contained by the surrounding paths.

I have a love affair with Penstemons and add a few new ones each year. This one has the impossible name of ‘Schoenholzeri’ which neatly translates to ‘Firebird’ and is a very true red.

Penstemon ‘Hidcote Pink’ is one of the most reliably hardy and long lived in my Cotswold garden. This particular plant has been in situ for nearly ten years. I keep taking insurance cuttings but end up giving them all away as the mother plant always comes through winter. Obviously, now I have said that, it will die this winter!

This is Penstemon digitalis ‘Huskers Red’ a new addition this year. I love plants with misleading names; the red in the name refers to the stems and not the flowers which are pure white!

It’s going to be a good year for fruit! My ‘Oregon Thornless’ blackberry can barely hold itself up under the weight of burgeoning berries.

Finally, everybody likes a bee. This one is on Thalictrum flavum glaucum and looked like it was going to spend the rest of the day there!

Well, there it is, my tentative return to my blog. Thank you cavershamjj for inspiring me to do so.

It was high time for a return visit to Rob & Diane Coles wonderful Meadow Farm Garden & Nursery at Feckenham in Worcestershire to see the Echinacea trial beds and get some inspiration from the planting schemes.

This time I decided to make it a visit with friends so 14 of our Cottage Garden Society group turned up for a tour with tea & cakes!

Just at the crucial “let’s have a group photo” moment, several members went missing in the shrubbery so we have a reduced headcount in this shot!

As usual, the beds and borders were looking magnificent, stuffed to the gunnels with delicious perennials of all colours and descriptions. Each time I go I either see something new or something I didn’t see last time. This time I made a note to acquire two new to me plants which would fit well into my garden.

Firstly, Allium angularis,  a short drumstick allium which, Diane assures me, flowers for months and doesn’t seed about like many others, preferring instead to gradually clump up and behave like a good allium should. The thing that made me take notice was the delightful bluey mauve colour which appear to start off almost white and gradually darken. It was also absolutely covered in honey bees and Diane reckoned it was one of the best bee plants in her garden. 

The other  was Gladiolus papilio ‘Ruby’ which was another clumper as Di assured me she originally planted just one bulb. Not cheap but good value if it multiplies like this one has. Needs fertile but well drained soil and gentle support to hold it’s weighty spear of velvety red flowers.

And, finally, tea and cakes. The Raspberry Bakewell was delicious!

What a strange Spring, Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ almost fully open on 26 April, that’s another first for me!