What's looking good in May 2012

Don't deadhead them Sheal, the pod developes where the flowers were, eventually the dead flower drops off and the pod'll be underneath, small at first, but it'll grow and in a couple of months turn brown and open up to reveal the seeds.
Stunning iris Longk, you're finding some real treasures in your new garden

 

Gorgeous irises, Simbad and Longk. I'm impressed you grew them from seed, Simbad!

 

Thanks Simbad, I'll keep an eye out for them.

 

The common garden sage is in bloom...........

 

An early flowering Lily 'Rosellas Dream' planted in March and at 12" high a quarter of the size it ought to be.




This Choisya Sundance, looked so sick in the Winter I almost binned it, it's redeemed itself now.


Penstemon Electric Blue shows well against the yellow of the Coronilla.




The Exotic Bed is looking better infiling with Cannas, Aloes and Echeverias but not finished.

 

Lovely, Strongy. That blue penstemon - I know it as 'Heavenly Blue' but it looks like the same plant by a different name - is a favourite of mine. The petals have a wonderful metallic sheen to them, don't they? And the colour is beautiful. Unfortunately I have found it to be a bit of a prima donna in my garden. One minute it's fine, the next it's decided to die on me for no reason I can fathom. I don't seem to have the same problem with other varieties. Still, I have a plant which has made it through the winter and is full of bud - so that seems promising!

 

The Electric Blue is lovely Strongy - one of my favourite Penstemons.

I grew both in my last garden, and "Electric Blue" certainly has a more vivid colour.
Both were fully hardy, but like you I had one of the Electric Blue die on me whilst just a year or two old. Dead easy from seed - I have a few coming on from seed that was five years out of date supposedly.

 

? That pink Oriental poppy" Tiffany" has made my heart flutter this morning Armondii.
Are they difficult to grow? I have wild, self seeded yellow Welsh poppies but your one makes me want that one instead.

 

In April I found a bag of Tete-a-Tete Daffs in the bottom of a drawer. They were given to us over a year ago.
As they seemed OK I put them into pots and sentenced them to the dark side of the garden to wait until the new year to bring out with other Spring flowers.
On Monday I found this has happened:-

They don't seem to realise they are supposed to arrive in Feb/March.
I wonder if they will delay their arrival until May next year?

 

Fantastic show Armandii.

The Penstemon were from seed grown last Spring but looked rubbish through most of the year in pots. Once in the ground they took off but I don't know how they will do in sand this coming year.

 

That is going to be fabulous in a couple of weeks. Such good doers aren't they,
thank you,
Jenny

 

Have enjoyed looking at such lovely photos! Everything is at least 2 weeks behind normal here, after an extremely cold, wet April and beginning of May, but anyway, things seem to be getting their act together at last: