Glorious Early Summer in the garden

I am enjoying the lovely weather, isn't it great after such a long, cold winter and spring? I am still behind with blogs, so there will hopefully be two this week and then I'll be caught up, fingers crossed. The nursery continues to be busy which is lovely, especially as the plants are really growing now and the gardens look fabulous. We've moved into early summer mode with Candelabra primulas, geums, early geraniums, aquilegias and so much more. Everywhere I look every day there are more flowers and so much lush colourful foliage. It really is a joy after such a winter and spring to see the gardens recover and give it their all. 

The apple blossom has been lovely this year

Tulips 'Queen of the Night'

Wisteria and acer foliage

Some evenings after dinner we take a walk along the river and through the woods, its so beautiful and restful in the evening light and restores the spirits. Lots of woodland plants coming into flower.

Not to be outdone, Poppy is aging disgracefully and likes the view from the banister, when you have 9 lives the drop to the floor below is nothing

Camassia are in flower at last in the herb bank. This is Camassia leichtlinii caerulea, its goes perfectly with the cowslips. Further along Camassia cusickii is still in bud but won't be long until its flowering to along with Camassia leichtlinii 'Plena', a creamy coloured variety. They are coping well with the rubbish clay soil in the banks and have flowered very well every year sinse they were planted 4 years ago I usually have them for sale as bulbs in autumn.

Some stressful stuff going on in various areas of life at the moment, but until there is more detail in all these areas there is nothing we can do. So I am parking it all as best I can at the back of my mind until we have info to work with. Which is progress for me, before now I'd be not sleeping, feeling ill and super stressed. But I have learnt from all the sh*t I've been through. SO parking the big unknowns, focusing on one day at a time and looking for one thing a day that makes me feel good.

Today it was the cow parsley (which I love) and the frothy hawthorn in flower along the roadsides Spring was a non starter and it feels like we've gone direct from winter to summer and these two plants really do make it feel like summer is here

Today's good feel photo. Fully vaccinated and thankful that we live in a country that has rolled out a vaccination programme so quickly and efficiently

Our Saturday night treat this week was a fabulous cheese board, wine, bread and cheese biscuits delivered to the nursery by The Cheese board. As well as a busy day in the nursery with lots of lovely customers I'm grateful to be able to treat ourselves after lots of hard work

Yum! 

The seasonal interest corner is looking fab, it just keeps going and going. These pansies have been flowering for months! They are a bit of a zany colour for me, but I am liking them, I'm getting experimental in my old age Popped in a few osteospernum and verbena to extend the colour through summer and cut back the daffodils ready for summer

Love a freshly cut, meandering path through the orchard, the wild flowers are starting flower and the apple blossom is abundant. The dafodils have finished flowering and the wild flowers now take their turn. Take the path and see where it goes, enjoy a seat on the bench, admire the view, enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

Work continues in the stock beds, I am nearly finished the first section, Yay! I have been weeding, top dressing, feeding and propagating all the plants there, potting up plants propagated last year that have come across from the tunnel and can now go into the stock beds. They look so much better tidied, labelled and with their picture labels. The polytunnel is bursting at the seams with cuttings, seedlings and recently potted plants. Its all go!

On our day off we were at home entertaining. It was so lovely to have friends to visit for lunch at last, with no restrictions. So good to finally catch up with Andrew and Linda and the doggies. Shame the weather didn’t play along but we got a lovely hour sitting in the garden chatting before lunch. Todays menu was Grilled chicken, bacon and sage parcels with a mustard and honey dressing, Colourful salad, Grilled salmon with blackpepper and dill, home made French bread, cheeses, coleslaw, potato salad followed by a summer fruit sponge cake and lemon thyme biscuits. It was all washed down with pimms, beer and lashings of ginger beer. Love a summer lunch menu.

Lemon thyme and sage by Quercus Garden Plants

Mustard in the dressing by Traquair House

Flowers from the cottage garden

Entertainment by Bracken, Hatty and Maddy

Lemon Thyme biscuits

Summer fruit sponge cake

Seared salmon kebabs with dill and black pepper

a colourful salad

Pimms? Dont mind if I do

Chicken parcels with bacon and sage and a
honey mustard dressing

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