I’m beginning to see progress in the garden this week, I’ve had a few good weeding and tidying up sessions so the bottom part of the back garden is looking respectable, although now the geraniums have pretty much finished, they’re going to need cutting back to…it never ends in a garden!

I’ve always found the bed in front of the conservatory window difficult to plant, the problem is that soil level is only about 6″ below window level. Not only are plants being viewed from both sides, but there is also the issue of height. I didn’t just want low growing plants, so I tend to plant taller ones that are, shall we say see-through!! I’ve got lychnis and erysimums, the perovskia is in full bloom at the moment, I’m always amazed how well it does  as it doesn’t look like the sort of plant that would like heavy clay soil!

The lillies have been lovely this year, I’ve got huge lillies in pots, their blooms are about 8″ across. I also put some in the garden this year to see how they do. I usually get two or three new ones each year at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show.

The clematis hasn’t grown as tall this year, it usually manages to get half way over the arch, so it’s a good two foot shorter, I wonder if I was a bit late pruning it this year. It’s covered in flowers at the moment.

The veronicas are looking amazing at the moment, this one in the  lower garden is a tall one with really deep sapphire blue flowers, it’s probably about 2 1/2 feet tall. This year, for the first time, I’ve found several veronicas around the garden that have self seeded which is great, luckily they’ve all chosen suitable spots! The rose behind the veronica is actually in the top garden, it’s called Champagne Moments, I love it, it flowers profusely all summer. I bought these when we got married and I’ve bought several as gifts since for weddings, christenings, anniversary’s…the name suits any celebration!

My next job is to tackle the top garden, round the pond and the summerhouse…