May in the garden.

You have an extensive collection of irises - I can compare your Jane Phillips with my blue one which I think might be the same. Our siberians aren't making a show yet.
Im losing patience with our Niobe and Rebecca, not much flower yet!
An interesting blog. Atrocity corner looking good after all the hard work.

Great blog SBG. I enjoyed it very much from the initial red tulips en masse which reminded me of field poppies, through the Iris (Jane Philips is my favourite, the scent is lovely) and the Sibiricas too. I only have one and it isn't growing very well, but I still have high hopes for it. It has been sulking ever since I split and replanted it. Niobe is my favourite clematis...never lets me down and so richly coloured. Another good red is 'Nubia'. Then the aquilegias...I have some self seeded nature's mix myself this year for the first time ever. Ever so pleased to see them all and yours are beautiful. As for what dies well..my favourite, Pulsatilla vulgaris. The fluffy seedheads are almost as beautiful as the flowers. :) Thank you, lovely blog.

Love the irises, the colours are beautiful .

Great pics of your Bogbean, love it.

Thank you for the comments. I find Niobe can be brilliant one yr then sparse the next Anget. I hadn't heard of C. nubia but it is a good red might be one to look out for. I wonder why your Siberian iris are being stubborn Karen. Which one do you have? I wasn't thinking of seed heads Karen but yes they are stunning along with the fluffy clematis seed heads.

The colours are good and i'd love some more and thanks to Siris there are a couple more waiting to put on a show. Think they are sulking this year though. the fuchsia is making flower buds and is going to be very pretty.

About the bogbean...is it a very large plant? My iris is called Lavandelwein. Its very hard to get and I am really keen to keep it. Its very beautiful.

I'll take a better photo of it later and show you how it grows and its size.

Thank you! Its lovely.

I too love the Bogbean Karen, so look forward to your reply Seaburn. The Iris's are of course beautiful, but natures show of Aquilegia are just as stunning in their own way. I love the colours of those. You can see why they are called Granny's bonnet as well as Clementine. Aren't these the flowers that they say are the "pretty maids all in a row" in the Mary, Mary quite contrary nursery rhyme?

Hi Honeysuckle it depends on which source you read. 16th century suggest that the maids could be nuns or Mary Queen of Scott's personal maids. I saw drawings in nursery rhyme books of dancing ladies.
one book had cowslips so it is open to interpretation. Even the phrase maids in a row have alternative suggestions.

I also love your Bog bean but your Iris are stunning! As for aquilegia I have lots in my garden too. I've no idea what any of them are called as most have just 'developed ' but I don't mind that, do you? Like Honeysuckle, I've always called them 'Granny's Bonnets '...but what's in a name? etc...

I don’t mind them ‘developing’ Waddy ..its exciting to see what you will get!

A lovely blog, SBG! You have some very beautiful Irises! I remember as a boy in London walking around the flower garden in our local park where there were lots of great German Irises!

Thank you for the kind comments.
I think I only knew them as aquilegia, my uncle Charlie was keen on me learning 'proper names where/when I could. The lady bird book of garden flowers called them that.

There is a bog bean blog now with a little more nature in it..

You have so many beautiful Irises, and the Aquilegias are very pretty too :)
There was once a lot of Bog bean growing wild around here in marshes. I don't know if it's still there as lots of the marshes have industrial estates built on them now :(

Victoria found bog bean in several reserves she worked at last year when working for south and west Wales wildlife trust. When she first found it she impressed her reserve supervisor by knowing what it was. Though she thought it was a garden escapee as it is in our pond. She also found lots of king cups in the same places.

That's good. I'm glad she was able to impress her supervisor :)
There are King cups around here too. They remind me of Beryl because she always enjoyed seeing them. She even wanted her photo taken once with some we found in a wet field !

I loved the closeup of the bogbean too - never really looked at one before. Is it easy to keep it within bunds in a small pond?
Now I'm very much afraid you are going to have to rename Atrocity Corner!
Bearded Irises don't do very well here so it was lovely to see all your beauties

yes the bog bean can be pruned back if it gets too big. it will always be atrocity corner to those that know the garden. [and if I get lazy it will live up to its name agaian ;o) ]

lovely pictures the iris's look stunning, do like that bog bean as well, have to see if can get hold of some of them.

Lovely blog, Sbg. Love all your Irises, & the Aquilegia. Have seen the bog bean growing plentifully in our local nature reserve.

You have a stunning collection of Iris and Aqualegias love those poppies . Planys thst die well fir me are Gentains they always die on me even though I love them. Yes had several lily beetles now squished.
.