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| April 14th |
...to this...
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| May 14th |
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