Between the rain!

"The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; 
It rains,and the wind is never weary; 
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, 
But at every gust the dead leaves fall, 
And the day is dark and dreary."

By  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Today was dry 'hurrah' here in Worcestershire, I ventured out into the garden, with the camera, to see what, if anything was providing us with some winter colour.The Euphorbia's appear to be enjoying this winter, 

we have Blackbird...

...a young E. wulfenii...

...and E. Glacier Blue providing some colourful foliage.

Against this fence, we have from left to right,

Cornus sanguinea Midwinter Fire, Cornus Alba 'Westonbirt' syn C. alba 'Siberia' and Ilex x Altaclerensis  Golden King...

...even though it has the name 'King' is is a berry producing female...

...also providing some berry colour is, Iris foetidissima 'Citrina'...

In a corner of the Oriental Garden colour is provided by the

Phyllostachys Spectablis and

Hamamelis Moll  Pallida (Witch Hazel)...

Hamamelis.

On the other side of the path:

Corylus avellana 'Contorta' is producing a few catkins...

 In the main borders...

Mahonia Bealii is providing some early pollen for the bees...

 ...with

Clematis cirrhosis balearics scrambling over it...

 ...the ornamental grasses are surprisingly still standing, there are three

Calamagrostis x a. ' Karl Foerster ' at the front with a Miscanthus sinensis behind...

Two welcome winter visitors recently photographed while feeding in the garden...
A Long Tailed Tit...

...and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker.

What is cheering you up in your garden today?

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'April showers bring May flowers'. Old English Proverb.

This year the April showers have waited for May to arrive.

Some of the May flowers in Our Garden@19.

We hope they will still be flowering at the end of the month.

The Lilac, in the South facing front garden, was here when we bought the house, it is a darker colour in real life than in the picture.

The narrow border along the drive is planted with Iris and Catmint...

...two unknown Iris...

...this one might be 'Alcazar.'

Any ID help would be appreciated.

This raised bed edging the patio is planted with Siberian Wallflowers and Allium 'Purple Sensation'...

...which could be described as either a 'Bold' or 'Brave' colour combination!

Calming things down and covering a large area in the Green and White garden is the

 Clematis montana 'Wilsonii'...

draping over the Berberis thunbergii 'Aurea'.

Weigelia 'Victoria' with dark coloured leaves, always flowers profusely, with Euphorbia  palustris providing a zingy yellow...

...to complement the A. 'Purple Sensation'.

In the shrubbery, Rhododendron Yak flava is in full flower.

Ending in the Oriental Garden, Azalea 'Panda'...

...is brightening things up during the (April) showers.

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Please take a seat...

Jerome K. Jerome

“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”
― Jerome K. Jerome

It is important to have plenty of seats in different areas of the garden. It is a well know fact gardeners find it difficult to sit in their own garden and do nothing!

With visitors coming seating is even more important.

The Box Bench on the patio was a little rotten in parts, a replacement was ordered...

No self assembly required?

This was apparently a miss-print on a well know website.

When assembled, The Rose Bench and Table look very good and match some of the other patio furniture

A gift from a very kind friend.

An inherited bench on the edge of the White & Green Garden.

I decided to paint the legs black to complement the white pots planted with Pittosporum 'Tom Thumb'.
The Grand Children christened it the 'Shaun the Sheep' furniture!

These old white chairs were in need of a coat of paint!

I thought bright blue would be a contrast to the yellow of the Euphorbia palustis which has a long flowering period.

The Banana Bench...

...with Clematis Pearl d'Azur and Pathencissus quinquefolia on a curved trellis.

The Oriental Shelter in Winter 2010...

...and spring 2010.

Please take a seat...

The view from my favourite seat in the Summer House.

...Tea and Cake anyone?

End of Month View (April)

With the garden due to open for the NGS at the end of May this will be the last End of Month View before then. There are several projects still to finish, we are not panicking yet!
I hope you enjoy the view.

The herb garden is situated in a raised bed with a standard gooseberry in the middle and a red currant trained as an espalier on the side fence with Box (Buxus) edging the front.

Just off the Patio is what used to be called the spring bed.  I have enlarged it as much as possible and this is the new 'Hot Bed', home for Dahlias, Cannas and tender annuals. (It doesn't look big enough in the photo!)

The White and Green garden is a formal garden, with Box hedging, spirals and at the back centre, a standard Ilex aquifolium 'Argentea Margenata'. The Lunaria var. variegate is now in full bloom.

The Oriental Garden is undergoing a few changes to its design and this view is towards the gate which leads back on to the patio. You can see more of this garden in my post:He-who-creates-garden-creates-happiness.

Looking through the Rose and Vine covered arch towards the banana bench...

...with zingy coloured Euphorbia 'palustris' ...

...brightening up both sides of the path, waiting for the Allium 'Purple Sensation' to join them.
The grass at the front is the New Zealand sedge, Chionochloa rubra.

The Three Graces reflecting on life at the end of the shrubbery walk.

Blue Bells behind the Prunus serrula, with its beautiful bark, along the never ending woodland walk...

...passing by some Primroses and Viola (Violet) labradorica 'Purpurea'.

The greenhouses are full of tender plants to be sold on the plant stall during the open weekend, these on the left are Dahlia coccinea var. 'Palmeri'. The seed original came from The Garden House, Devon.

 

On the right side is Cosmos 'Rubenza' and Tagetes 'Cinnabar', this is the waist high strain developed by Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter. We hope these will sell well, for the NGS, along with the perennials that have been propagated.

The other greenhouse contains the Dahlias waiting to go out into the new Hot Bed.

Back on the patio under a north facing wall,  plants such as Hostas and Ferns are bursting into growth...

...with the charming little flowers of Epimedium x 'Rubrum' providing some colour.

We will be ready!

You might also like to see:  Murphys-mad-march-garden-tour.

To see more garden End of Month Views please visit Helen at The Patient Gardener

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