Catch up

It's catch-up time in the garden after an unusually long, cold spring. Even now the nights are very cold and daytime winds chill. Many of the veg plants are still in the greenhouse waiting for gentler weather. Mid May and the veg plot still looks empty!

The camassia plants thicken up more each year.

The daffodils came late and faded quickly.

Forget-me-nots seed everywhere and I'm loathe to pull them up.

This tree peony is a joy, and seemingly tough to boot,

untouched by the harsh winds.

The camellias have suffered wind damage,

some  more than others.

I've kept my abutilon cutting under cover.

And the auriculas are tucked up safely as well.

No water came out of the spout when I tried to use my purple watering can. Was a leaf jammed in the rose? I unscrewed it but there wasn't a leaf. I turned the can upside down. Out popped a tiny frog! How and when did it get in there?

The greenhouse is jam-packed.

Plants are emerging in the perennial borders, but the pesky ground elder weed is flourishing more than everything else! 

Bank Holiday

The Tour de Yorkshire took place last week, culminating on Sunday with the race passing through the village of my Yorkshire home. And we weren't there! We were at the other end of the country spending Bank Holiday with our grandson in Bournemouth. We didn't see the sea, either, because one hundred thousand holiday makers had descended on the beach and that sounded like a few too many for us. I watched the cycle race on tv, hoping for some lovely photos of the dale taken from the helicopter that was swooping about following the riders. The competitors toiled up Park Rash. Blimey, it takes me all my time to drive up it in the car!

 

Then they raced through the dale in a flash. I must have blinked because they were through my village before I knew it.

The rest of the family had set up camp in the back garden using the beach tent for shade.

Our boy thought it was great fun.

After the race I did a bit of gardening, clearing paths.

It's delightfully wild.

Hot, sunny days on a Bank Holiday.

Not very British, is it!

At last!

At last some warmth and sunshine. It's been a long time coming. In the early morning the balloons drift out of the city heading our way. Before you spot them in the sky you can hear them, due to the noise of the gas as they try to maintain height.

This one was threatening not to make it.

But then it caught an updraft of wind

and floated over my head.

Sharing with Friday Skywatch.

NGS

It's open season for the National Garden Scheme, when private gardens up and down the land are opened for charity. The familiar bright yellow signs go up, directing visitors to each venue. Last month's Country Living magazine featured a promising-looking garden, half an hour or so away from our home. It was open last Sunday for the NGS and we arranged to meet our friends there.

The garden did not disappoint - but, oh, the weather! It was bitterly cold and I'm sure that it kept many people away.

This is a garden with really 'good bones'.

(And two very nice dogs.)

There was topiary that puts my pheasant to shame!

Neat box edging

and a lime walk.

Inside this lovely little building 

there is a plaque to the creator of the garden.

The whole garden is beautifully tended, not a weed to be seen and the emerging plants well staked. Do I sound envious? You bet! At the moment the weeds are definitely winning in my garden and it's too wet and cold to get out there and do anything about it.

We huddled together for warmth

But it didn't work so we went inside for tea and cake!

It would be great to return on a warm, sunny day.