The last 24 hours in pictures. 'Its the difficult ones that are worth the raising.'

What a difference a day makes! This was the gloomy picture last night.
 


And today I am gardening in bright sunshine…



Accompanied by creatures big (Tim and Spot the dog)…

and small..



I have been weeding these… their determined tap roots come out more easily than usual thanks to the saturated ground

and I am replacing them with homegrown scabious, vetch, ox eye daisies and autumn hawkbit.

so that in high summer, they will add to the meadows on the terraces.

This teenage weather is exacting and challenging, producing no visitors while the garden looks perfect. But, as a wise person once told my despairing mother ‘It’s the difficult ones that are worth the raising.’


Just remind me I said that the next time water floods the shop, the office, the gardens….

Top performing tulips flowering now.

Tulips are essential in the Spring. We plant loads of their beautiful chestnutty bulbs every autumn. They can be used for naturalising, for cutting, for pots and in the borders.In late April, the red Apeldoorn tulips look gorgeous in the Cedar meadow and their yellow counterparts are showing in the rose meadow and in the Poppy Borders.

We rely on certain tulips every year. They include Tulipa ‘Carneval de Nice’ (below) and, in the bucket,  ‘Uncle Tom’ in foreground, ‘Carneval de Nice’ behind, ‘Queen of the Night’ and fringed tulip ‘Swan Wings.’ The orange tulip ‘Prinses Irene’ looks lovely with terracotta or ironwork in pots but, as you can see here, works just as well amongst these border auriculas.
   
Tulipa ‘Blueberry Ripple’
This is a cracker. It is the first year we have grown it and we will definitely add it to our favourites. I chatted with Perry Rodriguez at Great Dixter  (via twitter). They grow it  and he sent me a beautiful image of Blueberry Ripple amongst mixed tulips on the table in the house. He suggested it would bed out well with variegated honesty. I agree. You could also try it with variegated perennial wallflowers.

I have included this picture particularly because I think it shows the true colour of this tulip. There is one image that seems to be used across the web and it is suspiciously over ‘blued’.


There is such a huge range of tulips and there are plenty more I would like to try out, all suggestions gratefully received.