I think we have done reasonably well, weather wise this bank holiday.  At least we haven’t been pinned to the weather forcasts waiting for a break in the weather, we have been able to get out and about.

Our ruby red geraniums are beginning to put on quite a show, and their scent is lovely.  I tend to bed hop in the middle of the night if I’m not sleeping well, I find a cold bed helps me get back to sleep, so when I tip toe into the back bedroom and crack open the window an inch or two the night air is heavy with their perfume.  I don’t notice it so much during the day, do geraniums release their scent at night?  I don’t know.

 

Our herb bed is doing very nicely.  The mint is now starting to clump and grow, the sage always does well and the rosemary is coming up the rear, with the thyme’s holding there own.  I use the herbs frequently as I normally cook from scratch and they always make such a difference to a meal.

Our border is thickening up, mostly with perennials, but with the addition of a pansy or two.  I do like the nodding heads of pansies, sometimes they just look so amusing with their happy faces bobbing away.

Our runner beans are starting to find their way up the poles.

And we are very pleased with our fig tree.

Our courgettes are just starting to take hold, it is still a bit cold for them.

And little pockets of beetroot are sprouting up.

Our ceanothusus is flowering.

And the rhododendron is coming on well.

We planted a white lilac with a white clematis to grow through it for when the spikes of flowers of the lilac fade at the end of June.  I don’t mind if it doesn’t flower this year, the heart shaped leaves are beautiful enough.  

Its always nice to get everything done by Easter, its always my goal.  I can remember when we moved into our first house and had not realised just how organised one must be in the early part of the year to get the full benefit.  And this year we have managed it, and I look forward to barbeques and picnics, high teas and roast dinners all set up in the garden.  (Have you noticed the barbeque is fired up?) 

Hubby seems very pleased.

And we had barbequed chicken for supper. In the tones of a Monty Python sketch – ‘this parrot is dead’ 

 

And just in case you thought everything was just too perfect.

This is me, wrapped up for an evenings barbequing in May.  I am a knitter, I understand the insulating properties of wool.  It was the greatest of fun, we had quite a giggle, our first meal taken outside this year.