Echiums! The triumph of the May garden
The great swathes of Echiums that line our lawns are the triumph of the May garden at the moment. The beas have tumbled and feasted in the epic blue spires of flowers and we have marvelled below them! (Drop me a line for seeds – they will need warmth to germinate “up-country” SAE)
As you may know from my garden Diaries, we lost every Echium in the Ednovean Farm Garden, when the Beast from the East came to call a few years ago. But the seeds lived on, cocooned deep in the earth and wasted no time in reclaiming their rightful place in the borders.
Maybe we initially left too many seedlings as insurance against a frost that never came, but a magnificent crop developed. Then aother year came and went, virtually frost free and they still glowered at me. Impenetrable ranks of dark green that resolutely refused to flower!
Suddenly this May they have shot up to form magnificent flowers and give the garden an “other worldly appearance”
Each day I marvel at the huge swaying pyramids of flowers as they sway gently in the breeze.
Sorry we couldn’t open the gardens this year
This is the weekend our gardens would have opened for charity. Sadly it was not to be in lockdown – so maybe next year. I won’t promise as many Echiums but Irises? Much more manageable!
A very British affair
The irises by contrast have been a very British affair. Beloved of the much missed Chelsea flower show – and coaxed into coexistence in our Cornish coastal garden. Somehow the iris always represents the transition form spring into summer for me.
My garden my sanctuary
I wonder for how many people has their garden proved to be their saving sanctuary, over the last months. Those outdoor spaces that normally just provide a “to-do” list of tasks, have suddenly proven to be a saving grace of peace and sanctuary. A new dimension to life that safely buffers and cocoons the home from the outside world.
With the time for peace and mindfulness, over the recent weeks, spring has been experienced as never before. A precious time when each new shoot has celebrated and every family of birds celebrated, until we felt we had a stake in the planet itself in the miracle of spring.
News from the Potager
You may have caught up with the latest news about the Potager in my last blog about our lockdown projects?
Well now the beds are full and the garden is starting to develop a character all of its own. Potatoes, onions, peas, courgettes, are starting to jostle for space with a little group of French marigolds. And some netting as an insurance policy!
Since this photo Charles has managed to squeeze in some radishes, rocket and pak choi
The Instagram life
May brings alfresco suppers
No garden would be complete these days without the Instagram moment! Charles has kindly constructed me a mega table to live under the arbour. It’s a recycled affair made from left over planks and old fenceposts. I was thinking French rustic with overtones of Italian mafia movies gregarious dining. That’s a lot to cram under one arbour!
A final photo for our May 2020 garden diary
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