Where is summer ?

Summer slowly seems to be arriving and some time has been spent working on the allotment. Tomatoes and lettuce planted. I have cheated on both ! Lettuce purchased from the nursery near the Dorothy Clive Gardens and tomatoes from R. at the WI market. Have a couple of home grown 'Black from Tulsa' grown from last year's seeds. The strawberry plants are smothered with fruits and I have temporarily netted them. I nipped into the pet shop today and they hope to have some straw in on Friday. We have another plant sale at the lottie on Saturday.

The day after the plant sale

The weather is slowly perking up and the last couple of days have seen it become slightly warmer. The first part of May though has been decidedly cool and windy. The wind dries everything out and I think that I have lost a thalictrum that was in the cold frame. Yesterday was the garden club plant sale and for the first time I remember my chives were not in flower. As usual everything I took that was in flower sold i.e. astrantias,tiarellas, polemonium and hardy geraniums. Plants I bought home were 'Solomon's Seal', hesperis and a day lily 'Little Wine Cup'. Several of my favourites are now in full bloom including various geranium phaeums, polemonium 'Lambrook Mauve',aquilegias including a new one 'Ruby Port' and astrantias. The lovely iris that I bought from the Spiegel garden several years ago opened yesterday after the plant sale ! Went to take a photo before but camera batteries need charging.

Have been busy in the greenhouse - sowing a few more seeds and pricking out. Having guilty pangs about the allotment - have spent a negligible amount of time there and really need to get down to some serious work. There's always next weekend !