GBBD – May Profusion

I usually try to post every bloom there is in the garden for GBBD (for my own record of what is flowering if nothing else), but I’m beaten today!  There are just too many flowers and to be truthful even though I love every single bloom it is the overall effect of the garden that is giving me the most joy.

I will try to post about more of the flowers individually during the next month. Cistus, Eschscholzia californica (and not just orange), Roses, Iris – all deserve their own post.

Thanks to Carol for hosting.  You might want to peek over the garden wall at some blooms in other gardens so do visit Carol at MayDreamsgarden.

So here (grab a cup of tea maybe) is My Hesperides Garden on GBBD in May.  I hope your gardens are giving you as much pleasure as mine is to me, happy bloom day.

Rosa mutabilis on the wall that divides the vegetable garden from the drive

Large Island

Iris Kent Pride with white blotched with brown Cistus

Philadelpus scenting the garden

Iris Before the Storm with Eschscholzia californica

The slope

This cistus is one I took as a cutting

The slope

The slope

Eschscholzia californica, on the slope

Buddleia alternifolia, I am tryijng to train as a weeping tree

The pillars on the west facing side of the terrace with Rosa Clair Martin

My favourite rose

Rosa Rimosa, South facing Terrace

Large Island

Large Island

Large Island

Large Island

Large Island looking towards the formal beds

Large Island

Looking along the back border from under the fig

Looking from under Mulberry along the back bed

Left Hand Border

Under Mulberry

Left Hand Border

Left Hand Border

Left hand border

Rosa Stanwell’s perpetual, Triangular rose bed

Sambucus with lovely dark foliage, Triangular rose bed

Triangular rose bed

Triangular rose bed

Triangular rose bed

Triangular rose bed

The quality of the images isn’t as good as usual as today was very sunny but rain is forecast for tomorrow so I needed to get them today.

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GBBD June – Looking for shade

Another GBBD has arrived; each seems to arrive so quickly now that there is so much activity in the garden.  Thanks to Carol at Maydreams for hosting this meme.  Pay her a visit to see what’s blooming in early summer or early winter (depending on which hemisphere) around the world today.

At last it’s hot, well today it is hot but the weather has been anything but consistent, rain, wind, cool nights, more wind and yet more wind that has been late May and up to now in June.  But the days are hot enough that when I want to sit outside during the day I am so grateful that the wisteria is filling out and the front terrace is in dappled shade.  A bonus is that the wisteria is flowering again profusely; I always think that the first flowers of spring are larger, but no, this year there are long racemes of delicately perfumed blooms hanging down under the canopy of shade giving foliage.

I tied in some of the new growth and pruned out tendriles that I didn’t want yesterday

The colours in the garden are heating-up; from pinks and purples to oranges, yellows and crimson.  I spoke about the gold of the small island a couple of days ago but gold and burnt orange aren’t restricted to that bed, they creep into the most surprising places, especially the Californian poppies which seed themselves charmingly into all the right places.

Just like the sun, yellow and gold!

The Salvia behind this is almost the same colour.

Tall, Hemerocallis

But there are so many blooms demanding my attention, click on the image below to see all the blooms in My Hesperides Garden today, they’re not all orange!

Looking accross the upper drive bed to the large island

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May feast 1

There is something new and beautiful in the garden each day now.  I want to try to disciplinemyself to a post a day to share all the blooms that are adding to the overall beauty of My Hesperides Garden in May.

Today I chose Eschscholzia.

I don’t usually have a great success with seeds that need to be scattered in the ground where they are to flower but the packets (given to me by some good friends from the US) specifically stated that this was the best method.  So in Autumn 2010 I scattered the seed – and yes, success. I therefore wanted to try some other varieties and Donica from Reno kindly brought me some different varieties, some of which were sown last autumn.  There are the results.

E. californica from the Thai silk group

again from the Thai silk series

The foliage merges with the foliage of Euphorbia pontica, you can hardy see the difference.

In this series some colours are much stronger than others

The classic Californian poppy, strong vivid orange

But these too produce slight variations, all of which tone beautifully together.

Some are markedly darker almost red, especially in bud.

Some have yellow edges

As I had enjoyed them so much last year; I took seed heads from some for the plants and scattered them on any bare soil I found on the slope.  They have filled all the available soil and make me smile every time I see them.  Their simple flowers combine well with many other plant species creating different and interesting combinations throughout the borders.

with wild Irises, prostrate rosemary and stipa tenuissima

with thyme and euphorbia

contrasting with Phlomis sufruticosa

One even found its way next to Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo

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