are more usual for April not May.  However, it does make everything grow pretty fast.  Keeping on top of the slug population by doing a morning and evening slug patrol has helped enormously, especially with the problem of the huge, so called Spanish slugs.  They did get my Primula vialii so I have covered what is left of the  plants with a 1/2 plastic bottle as a cloche so we shall see if they can still come through.  The Aquilegias are fab at the moment, flowering away, but some of them keeled over in the ninja showers.  I found bright orange aphids on the Mahonia out in the front garden, so hubby gave it a prune and that got rid of some of them.  Aphids are everywhere just now and most of the time I jet them off with a water hose, or squish them as I check the plants (if I can reach them).  The cactus in the conservatory have nice magenta flowers out now.  I love the mahogany of the sempervivum , also in the conservatory.  There are a few nice plant combinations that I have quickly taken a few snaps of (bit windy out there).  Some I like for the flower colours together, and others have the same colours but different foliage forms.    I have taken a few snaps of the raised bed from different angles as it is a kind of triangular shape.  The Erica tree heath is covered in flowers, but just now it is a strange shape due to the pruning it had last year, so this year I won’t prune the spent flower heads off at all so that all of the branches will flower next year.

Selection of Aquilegias

Orange aphids on Mahonia leaf

Phlox and chives

Erigeron (and peony in background)

Cactus in flower

Sempervivum Reginald Malby

Raised bed end on

Raised bed curved side

Raised bed back end on

white Aquilegia and Primula snowflake

Stumpery (part of)

Stumpery (part of)

Veronica and Tierella

Osmunda regalis purpurascens

Rodgesrsia leaf

Rodgersia, fern and Polygonatom

Hebe and Heuchera

Erica tree heath (part of)