Spring seems to be stretching from February to June this year. After a few mild, sunny days in February and a few more in March, April was cold and dry. The spring bulbs budded slowly and opened cautiously. At the end of May the Ballerina tulips have just shed their petals but the apple blossom will last into June.
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There’s been plenty of rain in May so, for plants that don’t depend on warmth, it’s been good leaf-growing weather. The borders near the house are filling with mounds of perennial cornflowers, cushions of soft alchemilla leaves and hummocks of lime green euphorbia, threaded through with orange geums and purple pansies. The bold colours lend a touch of warmth to the view even when (as today) the garden is shrouded in chilly mist.
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The beech hedge, which will eventually enclose this part of the garden, has sprung into leaf over the last week. The two young rowan trees are in leaf now too, one by the drive…
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and the other in the corner we call the Byre Garden. Ferns which looked dead a week ago are unfurling delicate, new fronds and the box bushes (including the tiny, new hedge on left of this picture) are covered in a fuzz of bright green new growth.
Beyond the Window Box has been silent for six weeks. First the lengthening days tempted me to extend my gardening late into the evening, swallowing time that might have been spent writing. Then my ‘proper’ camera went on strike, refusing to recognise its own lens. Once I get out of the habit of posting regularly I find I quickly lose the sense that I have anything to write about. This post (illustrated by ‘good enough’ photos from my old, compact camera) is a way back in – a record for my garden diary in future years if nothing else.
May 29, 2021 at 10:52 pm
This is what we are doing it for, isn’t it? For a record, a memory. You’re having a really long spring, good to see. We are already beginning to yellow and the heat is about to engulf us. I had a couple of happening Sundays with field trips, including to three gardens last Sunday, as you’ve seen. I hope your camera recognises its lens soon.
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May 29, 2021 at 11:00 pm
Thanks for your encouragement, Manja. I’ve enjoyed sharing your recent outings!
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May 30, 2021 at 9:51 am
I’d missed you – so I’m glad you’re back, and sharing photos of your whole garden, rather than just the lovely things you grow there. And I share your pain about the camera. Mine has been chez the camera shop for weeks, and I’ve been relying on my phone.
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May 30, 2021 at 11:30 am
Thanks for your encouragement, Margaret. Hope your camera is back from the shop soon. Mine has been waiting for a trip to Edinburgh (next week) to go in for repairs.
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May 30, 2021 at 3:01 pm
We’ll both be up and running soon!
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May 30, 2021 at 11:50 am
Such a strange spring. Luckily I have been late with my seeds for the allotment. Hoping for an extended summer.
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May 30, 2021 at 11:59 am
Luck or good judgement, maybe. I planted out squash and cucumber seedlings far too early and they’ve shrunk rather than grown!
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May 30, 2021 at 11:55 am
Good to see you back,, Judith….and I feel your pain re the camera. The inborn malice of inanimate objects…let’s hope you get it fixed soon
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May 30, 2021 at 12:00 pm
Thanks, Sue.
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May 30, 2021 at 2:20 pm
Welcome back. I’m sorry about your camera, but I’m glad you were able to share these photos—which, by the way, look fine to me. Your garden is just gorgeous.
Our weather has been strange, alternating between sunny and warm and just plain miserable (although good for thirsty plants). Last week I went downtown for a dental appointment wearing one of my favorite summer shirts and comfortable shorts. The high was 80 degrees F (27 C). The air was dry and comfortable, and Rittenhouse Square (one of our iconic urban squares/gathering places) was full of people, with a small jazz band performing in one corner. I’m fully vaccinated against COVID, and Philadelphia is emerging from lockdown, so I bought some lunch, found an empty bench, and enjoyed the show. The only downside of the weather was the fact that we’d had no real rain for about three weeks. Other than that, it felt like Spring or Summer.
Three days later, and the predicted high is 50 F (10 C), and it is raining. And raining. And raining. The rain in Philadelphia is welcome for gardens, but this weekend is Memorial Day, a three-day weekend that is the unofficial start of the summer season for beach towns and merchants in New Jersey. Tomorrow we are supposed to have sun and warmer weather, which should help business at the seaside.
Here I could write a long paragraph about climate change, strange weather, and how one of our major political parties still thinks climate change is a hoax, but I’ll save that for another time. Today I’ll do some cooking and tomorrow I will enjoy walking around my neighborhood in the sun.
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May 30, 2021 at 9:18 pm
Strange weather indeed. But I’m glad to hear you’ve been enjoying the sun and sociability, before the cold set in again. Today our chilly sea mist cleared in time for a sunny lunch in the garden with friends and a windy, clifftop walk under blue sky.
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