“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” even if it is supposed to be apricot and turns out to be pink! This was supposed to be ‘Eden’s Apricot Blaise’ but no matter, it is still beautiful.

‘Camille Pissarro’ however, does exactly what it says on the tin. Named in honour of the French impressionist painter, it reminds me of raspberry ripple ice cream!

Phlomis russeliana wanders throughout my garden, popping up here and there in places where it feels comfortable. It always seems to grow better that way so I generally leave it alone. A valuable plant for dry parts of the garden where other things might struggle. It does produce a lot of seed though!

The same is true of my little forest of Lychnis coronaria ‘Alba’ which discovers where it wants to grow and tries to completely colonise the area with hundreds of seedlings. I have lost count of how many plants I have dug out and given away, or composted! Much more refined than the garish cerise Lychnis usually seen and much admired by garden visitors. A pig to deadhead though!

This is tricky to photograph due to the background but looks better if you click on the photo to enlarge it. Full marks to anyone who spotted the tall colourful flower spikes of Delphinium requienii, or Requin’s Larkspur. A species in the Ranunculaceae family which doesn’t get attacked by slugs and snails like ordinary Delphiniums do. Given to me by a friend two years ago, it now self seeds profusely in this little patch and mingles with chicory and scabious to produce a colourful border of blues and purples.

The latest addition to my National Collection of Tradescantias is ‘Temptation’, and I just couldn’t resist! Hints of pink in the three petals, dark pink filaments surrounding six stamens topped with bright yellow pollen anthers, rare and beautiful.

Have a great weekend

David