I have been away for a week. What at a time to leave the garden. Jason from Gardeninacity spoke about how difficult this is in recent post. Only a gardener understands how hard it is to leave the garden at this time of the year. I missed the pale pink tree peony which I have been waiting for so long. I showed you the bud in a recent post. Now I am home and it looks like this.
If your partner is not a gardener and wants to go walking in Snowdonia in May, well there is nothing you can do about it, except to make sure that visits to Bondnant, Powis and Crug Nursery are included in the itinerary.
The best thing about leaving the garden is the excitement of coming back and finding things in bloom.
I am going to show you just a few of the treasures that delighted me on my return yesterday. By the pond the delicate pale lemon Trollius x cultorum ‘Alabaster’ is gorgeous.
I found that it had produced a white flowered baby. Maybe it will make my fortune. Or is there already a white one?
I love Ragged Robin: Lychnis flos-cuculi and I think this white form is so delicate.
At last the Albuca nelsonii that I grew from seed is in bloom. I had to wait for three years whilst it made a really big, fat bulb. I am not terribly impressed with it, I much prefer the delicate yellow Allbuca shawii which doesn’t keep you waiting for so long for its pretty bell shaped flowers.
Albuca nelsonii
In a pot I have Dicentra formosa ‘Bacchanal’. It has lovely blue foliage and really deep red flowers.
In a large pot is Crinodendron hookerianum. It has to live in a pot because I cannot provide the acid soil it likes. It probably benefits from the protection of the wall where it lives. I love its bright red lanterns.
May is Aquilegia time. I love them all and I am happy when they arrange their own marriages because you never know how their children will turn out, they are all lovely.
I love Thalictrums too and I am not sure which this is but it is the first one to flower in my garden.
White flowers are always a delight and I love this Anthericum liliago.
There are plenty of roses out. Here are just a couple. The thornless Zepherine Drouhin.
I love the delicate colour of this rose which was here when we came. I’m not sure of its name.
I would love to show you all my Irises but we would be here all day. This clump of Iris sibirica is gorgeous though and an unusual greyish colour. It flowers before all the other Iris sibirica.
I will finish with just one of my lovely bearded Iris, I am not sure which one to choose because they are all beautiful.
It’s wonderful to be home and to be able to enjoy all these beauties.
Chloris
The Blooming Garden 
What a lovely welcome home your garden has given you! Love the Trollius, and the white Ragged Robin. I think I’ve only ever seen the pink one before, growing wild on the roadsides here. I should collect some seed.. 🙂
I love Ragged Robin and this white one is a little gem.
I think my comment on your last post must have gone into your spam Cathy. I have had a bit of a problem with this the last few days. Comments I have left have disappeared into a black hole.
Yep, found it in my spam – this happened to me last year, but then the problem seemed to solve itself…
What a shame you missed your beautiful peony, but you came back to loads of beautiful blooms. I like your pale coloured Siberian Iris very much and love the dark blue bearded Iris, they are a super family, with an iris for everywhere!
I absolutely adore Irises. I have lots of bearded ones which are so sumptuous and such amazing colours. They don’ t last long but just now they are wonderful.
I’m sure your trip away made up for missing your tree peony blooming Chloris – they trouble with growing so many beautiful plants is a some point we will miss a bloom or two or three!!
Beautiful Iris Chloris, I’ve finally discovered that beared Iris do well in my front garden and am looking forward to having some flowers in a week or two. Now I’ve made the discovery – I’ll no doubt be adding lots more.
The dark blue is amazing, as is the lighter Siberica with the Aquilegia, they look really good together.
I could not leave without mentioning the Crinodendron – it looks great against the wall.
I love the white Trollius, I’d buy it!
Speaking of which, I hope you picked up some gems from Crug.
I did buy the exact same Ragged Robin this weekend, it’s beautiful.
Hi Jessica, I just found your comment in spam which is odd because a lot of my comments on people’s blogs have been going into spam the last few days. If this carries on we’ ll all end up talking to ourselves.
I did buy one or two beauties at Crug, but not too many because they were very expensive.
Great minds think alike, I am mad on the white Ragged Robin.
You are right we had a wonderful trip and to be honest there is never a right time to be away from the garden.
Great that you have found that you can grow bearded Irises. Obviously you need more, a girl can never have too many Irises.
I expect you could grow Crinodendron if you found a sheltered spot, you have the right sort of soil for it.
I perfectly understand your predicament Chloris – the subject of when to take a holiday can be a thorny subject in this household. Glad that you fitted in some garden visits. If you find yourself near Powis again, you must add the The Dingle Nursery and Garden in Welshpool to your list. After all garden visits are another form of walking 🙂 No doubt you returned home with some new plants to add to the many beautiful ones you already have.
We stayed in a B& B not far from the Dingle Nursery. I saw a sign for it! Blow, I missed it, but there wouldn’ t have been time and anyway, the Pianist was gardened out. Perhaps next time!
Gardening and holidays are always a problem aren’t they. It’s a shame that you missed your peony flowering. Lovely photos. xx
It was a shame to miss my peony but never mind we had a lovely time.
Argh! How frustrating about that peony! But at least you have plenty of columbines, roses, and other flowers to console you.
You are right, I shouldn’ t complain, there is so much to enjoy at the moment.
Oh, and thanks for the link!
Sorry you missed your pink tree peony at its best but hope your trip was wonderful. You have so many interesting plants that I do not recognize. Beautiful, beautiful irises.
Thank you we had a lovely trip in a very beautiful part of the world. I am mad on Irises and there are more out every day.
What a shame you missed your peony flowering! But you did have some consolations, both in your wonderful plants when you returned, and your garden visits. I would love to visit Crug nursery – it’s on my list. Good luck with your white Trollius!
I love all your beauties but it is perhaps the humble aquilegea that steals my heart. I have some here too, bt they don’t self seed, I think because the seed falls on soil that is too dry for it. I usually try to help them by sowing some seed fromthe plants and planting out where there is irrigation. Do show more of your irises soon! Christina
Whenever I go away, even in winter, the first thing I do is inspect the garden, this also applies after a spell of bad weather when I’ve been confined to the house! Totally obsessive!
Your garden is looking lovely, it must be so hard to tear yourself away.