Umbellifer proliferation

My rather erratic seed-sowing has been more successful this year than usual.  I tried two of the currently fashionable Umbellifers, Orlaya and Ammi, and both have given me a few plants.  Although the Ammi are still very small, I've planted out both lots in the new bed at the bottom of the garden, where I have vague notions of romantically billowing drifts of the stuff.  There's already one Umbellifer in there, Sweet Cicely, which was supposed to billow romantically under the Rugosa rose at the end of the bed; however the rose is showing more interest in suckering than in growing upwards, or flowering, and Cicely is towering over it.  A very impressive plant she is too; I've left a few seedheads on in the hope of a few more plants.  Meanwhile there's also lots of cow parsley over the fence.  Maybe I've overdone the Umbellifers.

Poppy 'Allegro'

The earlier spring flowers are now over, and the big red poppies, the Veronica, Sweet Rocket, foxgloves
and the Penstemons are coming out (also the Alchemilla mollis, of which I have far too much).  The early single roses are going and the more showy ones are starting: Gertrude Jekyll and Alba Semiplena, with buds starting to show on Felicia and Queen of Denmark.  The Wisteria is still going strong, as are the Aquilegias; a couple of new self-sown ones have come up under the hedge, a pale pink and white bicolour, and a deep purple and white which is very striking.  Need to find a better home for them.

Veronica

Clearing out and ripping up continues.  The front bed by the drive entrance has been tidied, and the 'Tutankhamun' sweet peas planted to scramble up the side of the Philadelphus (which needed a lot of dead wood cut out).  I hope that works.  The other, bigger, sweet peas have been planted on two wigwams, one down by the honeysuckle and one in what was the herb garden (for want of space anywhere else at the moment).

Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll'

Left to my own devices the other weekend, I went plant-shopping :)).  Some scented pinks, a couple of old favourites, Geranium renardii and Allium karataviense, which I used to have but lost, and some Perovskia which I fancy will withstand the cold east winds down at the bottom of the garden.  (It occurs to me that Angelica might be good here too, since it grows wild in Norway - but it might be too big, and anyway it's yet another Umbellifer ...).  I also came away with a few other impulse buys to brighten things up a bit.  We'll see how they do.

The weather went cool and windy - very windy at times - again, with a lot of showers, but the last couple of days have been warmer and bright.

Bee on the vetch

The birds are still feeding little ones and greatly enjoying their breakfast on the patio.  There seem to be more bees (and bee mimics - can't tell the difference) this year; I'm gradually working through the vetch, pulling it up before it can seed, although the bees are still very keen on it.  They do have the comfrey, though, and the cotoneasters which they also like; and there are now plenty of other flowers for them to feed on.  A couple of butterflies have appeared from time to time - whites, or perhaps female orange-tips (I've seen a male a few times) - and there was an electric blue damselfly in the garden today.  And this evening a hedgehog was snuffling around under the plum tree - the first I've seen this year.  Good to know we've got one around.