New growth

It continues to rain.....about a month ago I was thinking this would be my big planting out week and booked off some annual leave, but the reality is that it is that my tropicals, like me, wont like having cold wet feet so I would guess I will start planting in a couple of weeks.

So bits and pieces...

This is honey wort....I grew it for the first time last year and was impressed with the strange flowers, but it tends to peak early and looks a bit ropey when I need the garden to be oozing tropical exuberance. Thankfully it has self seeded and created a welcome patch of sensuous glaucous foliage and these alien flowers

The current view of the old garden, lots of forget me nots and things beginning to grow

A Carol Klein Surprise..... where her touch brought death to my banana, it has breathed life to the Kangaroo apple....this was one we caressed for camera and has miraculously survived, in a bit of the garden that has quite rubbish heavy clay soil. All the other 11? are dead but this is re shooting. 

This is one of my Paulownia stumps as I wanted to show how much I cut them down, this one is at about 2 ft, and you can just see the new bud coming at the top...when I cut it there was no sign of any buds or life, but just be patient!

Ferns: I *love* ferns, but sadly my soil isn't damp enough to grow them well. At this time of the year it is magical as the new fronds unfurl as they do look so primeval. I'm sure in another life I was one of those Victorians racing off all over the country with my hamper collecting ferns in the grip of pteridomania

Blechnum chilense *swoon*

*purrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

 Fatsia new leaves and below Schleffera

Above Rheum palmatum, and below Petasites japonica 

Astiboles tabularis....needless to say all bog plants are loving the wet

This was last weeks project...moving the greenhouse door to be on the other end and creating a bigger 'secret' seating area. This is the (well another) gin spot as it gets the last of the evening sun. We are contemplating getting one of those arches, however Im not sure if they look a bit naff....

Current projects: above is the path which ends in a pile of railway sleepers and the last stand of stinging nettles....I will conquer you!

Below is the view the other side...Stevens mound, now slope that he is magnificently sorting his way through...the picture doesn't quite show the scale, however what you are looking at is our beautiful silver birch lined sunken seating area!