(Nothing but) flowers

It's been a good few weeks since I wrote my last blog post and in that time the garden at Hill Top has changed out of all recognition. It's gone from looking like this...

April 14th

...to this...

May 14th

It's a transformation that I've witnessed every year since 1988 and it still amazes me!

With the (slightly) warmer weather and an increase in day length the perennial plants almost explode with growth and even over a weekend the change is noticeable.
The aquilegias have been putting on a good show and both the white and blue wisterias have been as good as ever. 
One plant which always causes a stir at this time of year is Thalictrum aquilegifolium or Greater Meadow Rue. It has fantastic fluffy mauve flower heads and grows upto a metre tall.

The lilies are coming out too, the first one is always Lilium pyreniacum, just don't get that bright orange pollen on your cream chinos!

Unfortunately the burgeoning of nice flowery perennials is matched by a proliferation of nasty weeds and an almost unbelievable increase in the rate of grass growth which means it's a busy time for gardeners everywhere. Fortunately there isn't much grass to cut at Hill Top apart from a few bits in the garden and round the car park, oh, and the verges in the village which have somehow become my responsibility (why do I pay my council tax again)?

Speaking of village matters it was the Sawrey May Queen procession a couple of weeks ago and once again it fell to me to decorate the trailer which the children ride in from Near to Far Sawrey (I love it really).

The hawthorn blossom was at its peak so an early morning foray into the woods produced just enough to go round the trailer and a sprinkling of Rhododendron ponticum flowers from a friend's garden finished it off nicely.

That's about all for now, look out for a feature about Hill Top garden in the July edition of 'The English Garden' magazine, there's even a photo of yours truly (don't let that put you off though). And with all this talk of flowers my musical link this month was an easy choice, enjoy.

Words and pictures by Pete the Gardener

Ne'er cast a clout...

The expression 'ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out' is well known and often repeated at this time of year. Most of us take it as a warning not to be too keen to put away our warm clothes (clouts) until the end of May when summer is definitely here. There is another theory that the 'May' refers not to the month but to the blossom of the Hawthorn tree, known as May blossom. So to put it another way, 'don't go out without a jacket until the hawthorn is flowering'! The hawthorn isn't flowering here yet so I'm keeping my jacket handy.



May blossom (not this year)!

It was the Sawrey May Queen festivities this weekend when the new 'Queen of the May' and the retiring queen ride in a horse drawn carriage between the villages of Near and Far Sawrey. The rest of the village children ride in a trailer pulled by a vintage tractor while the parents and others walk behind. The village hall in Far Sawrey then plays host to a brief play featuring St. George (hurrah) and the dragon (boooo), maypole dancing and the crowning of the new queen. Inside the hall there is a cake stall, plant sales, a tombola, cream teas and a raffle. A good time is had by all.

My job for the last few years has been to decorate the trailer with flowers. This year with spring being late and the festivities a little earlier than usual there weren't a great deal to choose from. Fortunately the daffodils were still flowering,  so I begged, borrowed and stole flowers from various gardens in the area! I think it turned out ok in the end.



Spot the dragon!



Meanwhile at Hill Top, the garden seems to have gone into overdrive in the last couple of weeks especially the rhubarb which I swear if you stand still you can actually see growing. It's producing a load of flower spikes which look very spectacular but need to be cut off to concentrate the growth into the leaves. It's doing so well, I might even be persuaded to give some to the house staff!


Rhubarb

 There's lots of seed sowing to be done in the veg garden in the next few weeks, runner beans, peas, carrots etc etc all need to be sown but it still feels too early to put out any tender plants so my courgettes will stay in the greenhouse for a while yet, at least until the May blossom is out!

Words and pictures by Pete the Gardener