The joys of gardening

Masquerade

The roses are doing well, with the exception of the newer of the two JPs, which is sulking, unlike the first, which is blooming fit to bust.  Masquerade is doing well, and Sunblest is putting up some blooms that we can see from the sitting room window.  As a rule, we've gone for established cultivars, but are a little disappointed by Peace and Handel so far.  Must feed them up a bit.  Compassion and a second Danse de Feu are still getting their roots down, so we shall not expect too much this year.

Sunblest

The iris sibirica is coming to the end of its all-too-brief flowering season, but the penstemons are coming into their own.  As usual, the red one is first into bloom, followed by the purple, mauve and delicate pink in that order.  Of the rose pink one I bought a couple of years ago, no sign.  Ditto the seedlings I raised a few years ago.  On the other hand, two pale pink poppies have performed, one bluish (see previous), another yellowish.  Again, a short flowering season, but spectacular so long as it lasts.

The summer colour is about to start.  Trailing lobelia are in flower in a few containers, waiting for the fuchsias to catch up.  An over-wintered geranium is flowering. The bleedin' snails have had most of the beans.  Bugger.  We have decorated the lettuce and carrot seedlings with little blue sweeties, so hope for fewer depradations.  I've tip-pruned the apple tree, which is carrying a whole lot of fruit: I should probably leave it alone for a bit longer, since the June Drop may decimate the crop.  But failure to thin the fruit last year was a mistake, so I have a decision to make soon.

I have today rattled the cage of the mower fettlers, and am assured by their singularly graceless phone answerer that 'it's down in the workshop now, so should be imminent'.  The electric reserve machine does the job quite well, but it takes far longer.  

Next tasks: sort out the irrigation device and move some of the containers into its range before next weekend, when we desert the garden for ten days or so.