Between blotch and blok

When we first viewed the house it was late summer and everything was green foliage, but not much in the way of flowers. I remarked on the lack of roses, for instance. The photos from the estate agent must've been taken at the end of the spring flowers after a tidy up: again lots of green. Now, I've never been one for flowers, as I don't particularly go for cut blooms in vases and I like eating the contents of my garden, but this was a lot of garden and a lot of green... and not very interesting.

In January, when we moved in, there were snowdrops out and crocus. Then were were inundated with daffs and narcissi and there were hellebores and grape hyacinths. It was quite overwhelming.

These all died back a bit and things were a bit green and uninteresting again.

Then the trees started: the magnolias, the flowering cherry, the lilac, the wisteria, the laburnum, the flowering currant. And the yellow poppies and the forget-me-knots running riot.

Amazing and colourful. But, that's not the real magic.

I'm never satisfied. Faced with this profusion of unexpected flowers, all I can do is find fault. Or, at least, omissions.

And so, it goes like this.

Me: "There aren't any bluebells. This garden needs bluebells."

Then later on, I walk up the drive and around the heart-shaepd flower bed. Suddenly, there they are, bluebells. And I swear they weren't there before I spoke.

Again me: "We could do with some irises. I'm sure we could fit some in near the pond."

We have them. Suddenly. Yellow and blue. Hiding in plain sight.

I'm beginning to think I shouldn't complain about the fact we've only had two tulips: one a very large showy pink, the other a sleek near midnight black. We might end up with an invasion from Holland (it's not that far, after all).

There are still gaps, so I've bought a foxglove for starters (haven't spotted any of those... yet). I'm growing pansies for the bed where a single plant remains.

Oh, and I'm waiting for all the roses that had been pruned so well I failed to spot them in September last year to add to the display.

 Maris Piper, Charlotte, Vivaldi.
(I'll forget otherwise.)

Planted Charlotte, Casablanca, Red Fir Apple plus the sweet potato slip that sprouted for me. Also beans, beans, mange tout peas; alpine strawberry. Potted up the common thyme and the red veined sorrel.
Scattered some welsh poppy seed.

I blame la_marquise_de_, since it was on her recommendation that I went and sat outside Boots today and listened to Wang Shun Xian. Superb. Especially watching the inevitable flautist's eyebrow raising. As soon as I can kick the small girl off the TV, we'll have a good listen to the two CDs.

(Also bought replacement mint and chives to be planted in the garden surrounded by razor wire with machine gun emplacements [you think Chicken Run was based on anything except fact], which is now hidden under cover, since keeping it indoors meant Big ate the chives.)