My garden diary seems to be a moan about weather. Its never right is it! The Spring has been unusually dry. All the rain has skirted around me. This hasn’t saved the garden from strong wind though. The dry weather backed up by drying wind meant the daffodils went over quickly and the primrose season which started promisingly seemed to be short.

The peony beds are looking fantastic however. The young growth on herbaceous peonies is just so beautiful. The foliage varies from variety to variety so there are all sorts of shade of pink, red and purple. Some are beetroot red, one I noticed as I was weeding was dark red shot through with magenta. Glorious! Another’s shoots came through the brightest pink looking really startling against the soil. Never say but they only flower for a few weeks. They are things of beauty for months on end.

My great excitement has been spotting buds on a variety I got five years ago. I felt unsure whether it was correctly labelled or not. This year at last I have buds. I am on tenterhooks! There is nothing more exciting perhaps than seeing the first flower on a plant and being able to verify its identity – and when I have waited so long, imagine!