Any colour, as long as it's pink...

 In June, my garden turns pink - not intentionally so, originally, but many of the plants flowering at this time of the year seem to be pink. Above is the beautifully crumpled bloom of Rose Jacques Cartier.

 As there are so many pink tones, I collaged some together (courtesy of Picmonkey).  From top left: Hydrangea Endless Summer Pink, Rose Ferdinand Pichard, Rose New Dawn. Middle row: Dianthus (not sure which - Iced Gem, perhaps), Rose Blush Noisette, Clematis Princess Diana. Bottom row: Geranium endressii, Erigeron Karvinskianus, Rose Gertrude Jekyll (which is scenting the whole area around it).

This year, Rosa Mundi (Rosa Gallica Versicolor) is flowering its socks off.  I do like the stripes on this rose.  As the summer goes on, the colours will change again, moving to richer red and even the odd yellow, but for now, I am enjoying this plethora of pinks.

Late Summer Colour

 To cheer us up after these rather dull, grey and definitely autumnal last few days, here is a nice burst of colour from the garden.  I must admit that I took these photos last weekend, when the light was better, but the flowers are all still going, though looking a little more bedraggled now.  Above is an annual dahlia, grown from seed, which I shoved in a pot and put outside the front door.  As it turned out, this is the best plant because the ones in the back garden have been decimated by snails!

 White cosmos, again grown from seed, also in the pot at the front door.

 A geranium versicolour showing beautiful veining.

 Rose Mary Rose, with the slowly opening buds of caryopteris.

 Crocosmia 'Honey Angels' with a shot of yellow to enliven the border.  This is a great plant, not too tall and it has come through the last winter or two beautifully.  I have ordered a couple more of these.

 A sugar pink phlox flower, bought as part of a a bare root collection earlier this year.

 My favourite geranium, Rozanne, which has been voted plant of the century by the RHS members. (I voted for it too!)

 Another cosmos, in a pot in the back garden.

 Clematis Crystal Fountain, showing the stages of the flowers.  I like the pom pom left after the petals have fallen.

 Hydrangea Endless Summer 'The Bride'.

 A pretty fuchsia 'Thamar', which is also in a pot and which came through last winter.

 A recent addition bought from Barnsdale; Helenium 'Ruby Tuesday' which is a compact variety, again in a pot. 

Beautiful rusty red flowers.

 More hydrangeas - Endless Summer 'Pink'.

A relatively new hydrangea, with blue flowers but no name.  I'm not sure how hardy this will be, but I couldn't resist the delicate blue/purple flowers.
The colours have definitely brightened my day and I hope you have enjoyed them too.

More cheerful things

 Sun at last! Blue sky and fluffy clouds, which is so uplifting after all the rainy days.

 A sugar almond pink hydrangea (Endless Summer Pink), flowering away despite being attacked by vine weevil (for which I have purchased some evil chemicals - I don't like using chemicals at all, but against this pest, it is war, as they have already killed off several of my plants in pots).  Still, there is the lovely pink to cheer me up.

 A lovely combination of roses (New Dawn and Cottage Rose), Clematis Perle D'Azur, and peeping out behind the roses at the top, Jasmine 'Clotted Cream' (mm... clotted cream, scones and raspberry jam...).

 My latest purchase of material - vintage in this case.  The shop assistant told me that the owner has bought some bolts of material from a draper's shop which closed down in the 1960s.  These bolts then sat at the owner's house, wrapped in the original paper until recently, when she decided to have a look at them.  There were some fabulous chintzy flower patterns and some cowboy prints too, but it was this one that caught my eye.  It would have been lovely to have had enough money to buy enough to make a huge 1950s skirt with loads of petticoats, but sadly my budget could only stretch to one metre.  However, having been inspired by a blog I follow, mrs thomasina tittlemouse , who has been making the most lovely rosy pillowcases, I decided I could use my material to do the same.  As my pillow is one that you don't turn over as it is specially shaped for my neck (I have had a few problems in the past and this Putnam pillow has really helped), I thought I'd use the material for the top and  calico for the bottom.  So far, I have washed the material and it is drying on the line.  I'll keep you posted on my (probably a bit slow) progress.

Finally, a rather blurry bee visiting the Jasmine 'Clotted Cream'.  I expect she/he is happy to be able to get out and about after all the rain.  She/He certainly seemed to be making the most of it - and so am I!

Chelsea Week - in my garden

 So, Chelsea is over for another year.  I decided to see what was flowering in my own garden this week and things have changed very quickly thanks to the sun since Tuesday.  The alliums (well, it wouldn't be Chelsea week without them, would it?) have suddenly exploded into life and the complex flowers warranted a close up (thank you, Photoshop).

 This is a Verbascum which I grew from seed last year, planted and promptly forgot about.  It wasn't until I noticed the flower spike that I realised it wasn't a rogue primrose.  I've forgotten its name though. (I know that my roses have got rust - I blame the weather!)

 Clematis 'Crystal Fountain' is looking lovely and has lots of buds which is encouraging.  I like the exuberant petals.

 Hydrangea Endless Summer Pink is the first of my hydrangeas to flower and is looking the most healthy too.

 Clematis 'Asao', also looking lovely with an interesting combination of colours from cream to green to pink.

 The always reliable hardy geraniums (I have lots of different ones) are busy too - above is Trevor's White (self-seeded from the original and shoved unceremoniously into a pot).

 Geranium Versicolour - it was originally 'Lace Time' but may have reverted back.  The delicate pink veining makes an intricate pattern.

 An unnamed geranium, which may be a sylvaticum, but I'm not sure. It does have almost luminous purple petals.

Finally, a geranium (probably Johnson's Blue) peeping out from its foliage and that of roses and nigella.
I can't compete with Chelsea, but I think my garden is managing to put on a bit of a show!