May Summer Begin Now

It seems, when I look back at my blog, that I'm obsessed with the weather but then, what gardener isn't?

I'll keep it brief....average temperature of 8'C, a frost the like of which we haven't seen on our peninsula in living memory, frequent hail stones and now severe gales forecast for the next two days. 

We are opening our garden for the National Trust UGS next weekend so you may understand my frustration. June is our busiest month for visitors and after all of our planning and prep, I just want the garden to look its best.

OK so enough moaning, on the positive side, the trees are growing well, the yellow rattle has germinated well in the new meadow area and last year's newly planted areas are starting to take shape.

And I'm happy cos that's what we gardeners are - apparently we are the happiest profession in the UK. (Bankers are the most miserable...nuff said.)

Here's hoping for a wonderful June!

The front garden filling out.

Persicaria Superba, a thuggish but useful plant at this time of year.

Chelsea Week

Isn't it so exciting? It's Chelsea time and I'm dying to see all of this year's trends / designs. A sneek peek this evening hinted towards the natural look staying very much on trend, which I love of course.

Back at Kilcoan Gardens, things are still slow. We had a lovely workshop on Saturday with 11 amazing girls.....and the sun shone!! It's to warm up this week so here's wishing for some surging forth of plants as we are opening this year for the National Trust Ulster Garden Scheme on 6th & 7th June and I'm so hoping for a great display.

We are still very busy potting on, hardening off and planting out but this week should complete the bulk of the work...just in time for the whole process to start over again with the biennials - I'm determined this year to do a better job of filling the current hungry gap with more honesty, wallflowers and hesperis. 

The veg garden is woefully behind as always, just not enough hours in the day and it always get put to the bottom of the "to do" list....I need a wee retired grandpa to come in and take it over....any takers anyone?! Tomorrow's priority will be the veg - planting out brassicas, direct sowing carrot, parsnip, beetroot and anything else I can think of. The peas & beans are almost hardened off so that they can go out at the end of the week.

What else, what else.....I need to make a new list! 

Polemonium looking lovely in the cottage garden.

The orchard with geum rivale, camassias & Pheasant's Eye narcissus.

Confessions Of A Plantaholic

Wind....with a side order of gales. Anyone else tired of our spring weather? Yes I know that April was lovely but it was cold....cold and dry - I don't really feel like I've enjoyed any spring weather as yet - I have yet to strip down to a t shirt. 

The plants are strangely behind in someways (late narcissus still not blooming yet camassias are all out in time). Rosa Canary Bird has usually flowered by not but not this year, and yet, the rugosas appear to be on track for blooms any day now.

What have I been up to? A sore back from a silly shovelling of topsoil Thursday week ago has slowed me down a little but I've got plenty of willing helpers for which I am very grateful. 

Last week, I potted on more of the autumn sown perennials: aquilegias, astrantia, thalictrum aquilegifolium, white catananche, pink and white physostegia, nepeta grandiflora Border ballet, purple & white veronica longifolia. The spring sown perennials are also coming on well - agastache Globetrotter, veronica longifolia Pink Shades, also some penstemons and dwarf hollyhocks. Gosh, it's only at times like this when I start to list what I've sown that I start to get quite excited.

Confessions of a plantaholic - a few more plants just fell into my path / hand / bag when I was at Garden Show Ireland last week....polemonium Purple Rain & Henriette, geranium Blue Cloud, epidmedium Warleyense, calamintha nepeta, brunnera Mr Morse, aruncus aethusifolius, mukdenia rossii, filipendula purpurea, lunaria redviva - where am I going to plant them all??!!

Still so much to do....I can feel (another) list starting...where's my pen?!