After yesterday's rain the garden is fresh and verdant. This morning walking through the "Lazy Hazy"planting I spotted the first flower on the beautiful rose "Rhapsody in Blue". The flowers are a violet purple when mature but appear almost pink when the buds first open. This rose was the muse for this section, which has the soft palette evoking the relaxed style of "George Gershwin". The colours are a melange of blue/pink through lilac to mauve and black. "Rhapsody" is in the forefront of the white wall created by "Snowden" and "Nevada" whose arching stems are now laden with double and semi-double white flowers. Amongst this heads of the ethreal Aquilegia "William Guiness" sway on the breeze. The flower heads remind me of happy days in Dublin drinking guiness! They have almost black sepals edged with a white frill. Just like a Granny's Bonnet!
I was thrilled to spot " Astrantia Roma" showing her branched heads of pincushion flowers surrounded by a ruff of greenish claret bracts. This delicate flower is unexpectedly hardy and is surviving well in the steep hillside planting. It looks like Sir Percy at the court of Lord Blackadder! I must remember to cut back the flower stems when they turn brown to encourage a second flowering. The aquilegias Blue and Black Barlow are creating refined structure with their plum/purple and black flowers. I notice that they have started self-seeding,I found a couple behind the bees in the white wood. After yesterday's rain the bees were out early today collecting pollen from the Hesperis and Dames Violet.
Alerted by squawks of indignation, I've just seen Elvis, our resident pheasant, running towards a shakey take off over the pond, with Isis, our white shepherd, in hot pursuit!
