Saturday again so soon, and it’s mid May already! It’s rather murky out this morning, but that doesn’t dampen the spirits when there’s a garden full of flowers and something new to see every day. Here are my six favourites for today:

This lovely Iris is ‘Jane Phillips’. Planted some years ago, it hasn’t flowered for a couple of years – probably due to the surrounding plants growing over it’s rhizomes. In order to flower, the rhizomes of bearded irises need to be exposed to light, so I’ve been vigilant in maintaining this exposure since last Autumn – and it’s paid off!

The artfully arching Allium nectoscordum siculum, commonly known as honey garlic is buzzing with bees as usual. This is a plant that pops up somewhere new in the garden every year and it’s always welcome.

Planted in completely the wrong position in the hot border is the explosion of colour that is Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’. It’s right at the front and this year it’s a decent sized low growing clump – with flower stems reaching 60cm. It’ll be moved further back this Autumn, but not so far as to lose it’s impact.

Viburnum Plicatum Mariesii with it’s horizontal stems and flowering habit is a graceful addition and although it has a relatively short flowering period, it is a shrub well worth considering for a white border.

If anyone could help with identifying this aquilegea, please do! It’s not one that has self seeded in the garden, I definitely bought and planted it two years ago – it is a beauty, but I didn’t keep a record of the variety!

Finally – a self seeded aquilegia, one that has a stronger colour than the many pale (and rather insipid) specimens that grow freely in May.

Now it’s back to the jobs I listed last week – I’ve only managed to get half way through them! Have a great gardening week!