Early Summer Views on my Garden.

Maytime is often one of the most colourful times of the Gardening season I think.

My garden is no exception and this year is full of colour . The Clematis are flowering well and varieties like "Henryi" and "The President" (Photos above) are proof of that. I have a few more that are due out soon and there are plenty of buds on those now.

The Ceanothus (Californian Lilac) shrub has also flowered very well this Spring with an abundance of its Blue flowers on each of the five bushes I have of that.

The Rockery (Photos above) is also doing very well with the Alpines having a good season this year. Maybe a result of the Warm & Sunny April we had here In England. All plants seem very forward as a result and some were quite early Indeed.

Currently there are a few Irisis In flower around my Ponds (Photo of the Blue ones above left), but its a shame they are relatively short lived. I have Yellow ones in my Larger pond too.

The Leafy Hostas are growing nicely with no signs of any Slug damage as yet. Though I do put a few Slug pellets down to deter them. Otherwise there would be a lot of eaten leaves.

One of my Hostas are pictured above on the right, with a pale yellow edging to the leaves.

Hostas prefer shade and moist ground. So around trees or in pots in shady areas, they grow best. Maybe a Mulch around the base they would enjoy , to conserve moisture. I use Bark Chippings or you can use gravel too. If Hostas become too large you can split them up, using a spade, then plant the smaller sections where best suited. This is preferably done In early Spring or Autumn. This year I'm also trying a few Strawberries in a Terracotta planter, positioned on a post. This is pictured above on the Left hand side. The Strawberry plants are In compost with some gravel at the base of the planter for drainage. Already there are a few Strawberries forming on the plants.

I have just completed all my Summer bedding, which looks well this year with a few welcome showers of rain to help. Much better to have wet ground to plant into, than dry soil.

Otherwise you have to water In each plant, which is a slow process Indeed.

So these will all look at their best In July & August I reckon.

Photos of these will be posted here later In Summer.