Tulip-o-rama!

I couldn't resist a round up of some of the tulips which have been brightening up the garden.  They are especially bright, so sunglasses may be in order!  Above is Black Parrot (which was dried and replanted from last year and has done really well), looking amazingly velvety and luscious.

This was a very zingy combination of colours at the front of the house...

 ...which contrasted with the rather refined and elegant pinky-purple of this one (these were a mixture of Triumph and Single Early).

Here's the tub at the front of the house, bringing us a welcome bit of colour as we go in and out.

This fringed tulip appeared in the border and was a surprise.  I remember a pink fringed tulip appearing for a few years when we first moved in, but then it seemed to disappear.  I know I haven't planted any fringed ones, so is this the original one putting in a re-appearance?  If so, it is very welcome!

 

 Here are the new Ballerina, shining out against the brick wall and the foliage.

 Tulip 'Red Shine' really do shine and are beautiful.

 When the sun shines, Ballerina loves it!  There is another tub of Single Late tulips to the left, so there are still a few more tulips to enjoy.

 Red Shine at the front, Ballerina at the back - I love them! (I think this is probably obvious).

The surprise pink fringed tulip looking almost fluorescently fuchsia pink.  I think more tulips will be required next year (if I can manage to squeeze more tubs in!).  I think this may be starting to be an obsession...

Vagaries of the weather, but plants carry on regardless

 In the last week, the weather has been really interesting.  We have had double rainbows - this one is taken from the back garden...

 ..and this one was out of the back window of the car, on the way home up the A1.

 Then there have been the biggest hailstones I have seen in a long time.  While I was taking the photo, they came down quite hard and I could really feel them hitting me!  I put the five pence piece in the shot as a size comparison.

 The sunny days have been loved by the plants - above is blossom from Prunus Kojo-no-mai which is a real star at the moment.

I bought two pots of these bright and cheerful anemone blanda at a well-known DIY store.  I like the way the flowers open fully in the sun and then close up again.

 Here's a progress report on the tulips (Ballerina and Black Parrot) from last year which I dried and re-planted.  They are much further on than the new ones I planted, but at the moment, they seem a bit spindly, although they may fill out a bit yet.

 These little sweet violets are blooming along a communal path at the back of our line of terrace houses.

The pushkinia is doing well and I do like the pale blue veining on the petals.  Even though the weather is unpredictable (this is England, after all!), the plants are heralding Spring.

My garden in Chelsea week (and blossom from Mum's garden)

 It's Chelsea Flower Show week again, and while I am deciding which are my favourite gardens, here are the stars of my own garden.  I have not been very successful with aquilegia before, but this year, I have three plants which are looking lovely.  The top one is one from my sister, who has several old fashioned, but lovely varieties in her garden.

 I bought this one last year and it is looking fabulous.

 This was supposed to be a blue one, but, as you can see, it's pink!

Tulip 'Blue Parrot' from the 'cosy autumn swap' - thank you to cookie!

 Tulip 'Black Parrot' looking amazingly frilled and beruffled.

 My gold medal goes to Tulip Ballerina (I think you may have guessed that!).  Even as the age, they are still beautiful, elegant and graceful.

 Now to Mum's delicate apple blossom - about a month late, but stunning.

 It is just such a pretty flower and the dark pink buds highlight the white petals.

Spring has finally sprung. Hooray!

Purple and Orange

Purple and Orange, or to quote from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, "The ecclesiastical purple and the pagan orange symbolising the mystical symbiosis in marriage between the heathen and Christian traditions".

 No, I just love the colours!  Tulip 'Ballerina' contrasted with Tulip 'Little Beauty' (a gift in the Cosy Autumn Swap) in the top photo and then Tulip 'Black Parrot' below.

 I also like the contrast of green and purple in Black Parrot - this was at the beginning of the week.

I think I am a little obsessed with Ballerina.  It does seems to be extremely photogenic.  The shape seems to change too.

More Black Parrot, this morning.

 The colours are so rich and luxurious, like a velvet.

Just look at Ballerina with the sun shining through the petals!

 The lilac is flowering too.  It was a large tree when we moved here, twenty years ago, but it was felled by very strong winds a couple of years ago.  I though we had lost it, but it has grown back from the base and the flowers are around head height now, so we can really enjoy it.  Nature is marvellous, isn't it?

Delicate and beautifully scented flowers.