I love this gorgeous time of year! Everything is hurling itself out of the ground and I’ve taken a few snaps of what’s happening in my garden. The Iris Ensata are loving our damp, clay soil and are blooming in profusion right now.
The bees love them, disappearing completely inside them and coming out backwards, then off to the next.
This gorgeous rose is a Jude the Obscure and it smells utterly devine 
This pretty pink geranium in the new bed is getting its feet down and spreading out.
The foxgloves are out and are a gorgeous, gorgeous, soft pink
This beauty is an alstromeria. I’m trying in the newly planted bed. The colour blends beautifully with the other new plants. We’ll see if it manages to survive.
The purple leaved shrub in the front garden has opened its flowers, they are gently fragratnt too.
The daisies are out. Every year I mean to stake them when they’re small, and every year I don’t!
These are the nemesia I put in pots earlier. They are flowering fantastically, and unexpectedly are fragrant. They smell of vanilla, which is delightful
Do you remember this picture of the small hosta and fern bed at the side of the house.
Well look at it now!
Rocket is supposed to be an annual, but this plant has come back for three or four years. The first year, I just didn’t get round to pulling it out in the winter and the craggy stems regrew in the spring. So, ever since, I’ve left it and it’s regrown every year so far. Each year, I have a back up pot in the greenhouse, just in case, but, so far, haven’t needed it.
I’ve got the tomatoes planted up in the greenhouse. Three plants each of a standard tomato, which crops really well, a variety called Tigerella, which are standard size with exceptional flavour and cropping much less, and a heritage variety called Brandywine. They have outstanding flavour and if I had lots of room, I’d grow loads. But I only get a handful of fruit per plant, so can only really grow three.
We still haven’t got planning permission to convert the loft, and Mike has started a new project, a pond. This is how far he’s got so far. I’m really looking forward to when it’s finished. We won’t have any fish as they tend to eat the dragonfly larva and frog spawn and I prefer to have the dragonflies and frogs. There will be a beach type area so the bird should can bathe, and we’ll have to work out how frogs can get in and out.
Lesley, your garden flowers look gorgeous. More pics please in the near future. The pond looks great. Could we see some pics of your garden overall to get a better sense of how it all fits together? I recently heard a story on BBC radio 4, which I listen to avidly even though I am here in California, that mentioned tomatoes in there yield. I didn’t know that the heritage tomatoes like Brandywine have a lower yield then some of the newer varieties. Have you considered growing Sungold which is a smaller tomato although not tiny? When I lived in a warmer part of California I grew them and they did very well with the large yield and this was one of the varieties mentioned on the radio show which I think might be call Gardner’s questions. With the time difference sometimes I like to lie in bed in the morning and listen to that program. Looking forward to seeing your finished pond.