Around my garden in April

A quick round up of what's flowering in the garden (though I forgot to take a photo of my prettiest Clematis (Clematii?!)  

At the beginning of April, the Primroses were still at their prettiest.  They seem to do well about the place, as do the Primulas and Cowslips.

A deep red and yellow Cowslip with the sun shining through the flowers.

A slightly blurry photo of some of the Cowslips which line the front path.  They have all self-seeded from a handful I bought years ago.

Blossom on the main apple tree in the middle of the lawn.

One of the many Welsh poppies about the place.  I tried to sow them for years, without success, then gave up and had them popping up all over the place.

Two apple trees we grew from pips.  One is the big greeny Codlin type, and the other is a sharper red-striped one which I may make Cider from this autumn.  They are at the top of the veg plot.  That just has Peas in (you can see the sticks at the front) and Kestral spuds at the back.  Beyond the breeze block wall are three Rhubarb plants (but only the one on the left gives a worthwhile crop - the other two are very weedy.  We had our first picking yesterday from the main plant, and I cooked it up with slivers of preserved ginger.  In the middle of that bed are 4 or 5 Strawberries from last year's runners elsewhere, and some Raspberry canes.

Above the Raspberry Canes in the long bed, I have managed to persuade my Clematis Montana rubens to stop scrambling up the apple tree, and grow along the top of the wall instead.  Much better than the brambles which hung down there before.

By the driveway, the Vanilla-scented Montana clematis has draped itself over the dead Magnolia stellata.

Roserie de l'Hay has been in flower for a week - she normally flowers in early May.

At the bottom of the yard, the lilac is bent with the weight of the blooms.

The top of the wall which runs between the front garden and the pathway in front of the house.  It has taken me nearly 30 years to get the Aubretia to grow there!  (It was not helped by Bank Voles!)

A gorgeous Geum I bought last year - in fact, I got 4 of them as I loved the colour.  I put them in these black pots and moved them around at the back of the garden to give colour to dark spots, especially when we were having viewings as I wanted the garden to look colourful.  This one began flowering in March.

In these pots I have several home-grown unusual coloured Aquilegias- a pale pure yellow and a pink and yellow and their babies.  Two Delphiniums - one pale blue and one dark (Black Knight), and a couple more small Geums in lower pots. Ghengis and Theo were happy to sunbathe out there.

Well, I think it's Tuesday today.  We had a click and collect order at Tesco, but probably won't shop there again as deliveries are almost impossible to come by even Priority slots which I am eligible for.  However, Asda have been quick off the mark, and obviously had a list with my name/address on and Tam had booked an emergency Click and Collect (which we didn't want to do really as they're 25 miles away in Llanelli) for early May.  Then they got in touch and offered us next day delivery (several spots) and when we booked one for May, they asked if we wanted it every week.  So that's us sorted now! We still have a good store-cupboard so it's mainly fresh fruit, veg, milk and dairy we will need.

Sorry to witter on, but tbh, it was a bit worrying that we couldn't get click and collect spots closer together than 3 weeks!  Right, everything to go in the fridge has been Dettoxed and fruit has had a soapy wash and been dried.  Phew.

I just popped out in the rain to take some more garden photos, and the two Wild Boys were tucked up in the warm in the Big Cat Basket which is by the front door.  Miffy was in the small one but ran away when I pointed the camera at her - I am Too Scary!!