Lazarus

When I first planted the garden, I envisaged a tiny glade with woodland-style plants in among the shrubs.  It didn't work out that way, not least because I very seriously underestimated how big the shrubs would become, and the paths into the glade were never properly maintained.  One plant I put in there was Solomon's Seal, but it succumbed to caterpillar attack and had its leaves shredded, and then it disappeared.  I haven't really got inside the tangle of shrubs for a number of years, until the other day when I started to tackle the over-large evergreen viburnum which is in need of some branch removal.  And there, under the viburnum and in deep shade, are several Solomon's Seals, just coming into flower.  How long have they been there and doing their thing quietly and unnoticed?  I thought they were long dead!

Something else I have been tackling is the summer jasmine, which keeps trying to climb into the summerhouse.  It has been severely hacked back, and the area around there properly weeded.  I plan to put in a grass path with small borders on either side; the bicoloured aquilegias are destined to go in there, at least while they bulk up.

Cowslip patch

The lily-of-the-valley has been early this year; for the first time I was able to pick a posy of them for May Day.  The late spring/early summer flowers are now starting: the first roses ('Mary Queen of Scots' again), the first wisteria flower, the first aquilegia bloom.  The choisia is well in flower, as are the blue camassias.  (Something has squashed some of the white ones; a cat?)  The cowslips are going over, and the hellebores have been deadheaded before they can set seed.

Several great bird sightings this past week: at the 'big' end of the scale, the red kite has been over, while at the other extreme, a goldcrest has been about.  It hovered at the library window the other day while hunting for spiders.  I hope it's nesting nearby.  I've seen one here before, a few years ago, but they're not something we see every year.  We also had a yellowhammer here the other day, and the first swallows feeding overhead; we'd seen a couple of them high above, presumably en route for elsewhere, but these are the first this year at feeding height.

The weather has been mixed, with some rain but good warm sunshine over the weekend (and some lunches outside on the bench), but today it was cool, showery and very windy.  Forecast is for more of the same.