The seasons seem to be hurrying along this year after a bloody awful winter.
It’s May already and the start of the month means that my Montana Clematis is in flower again.
It covers the garden gate arch with pretty pink flowers and suddenly the back garden is transported back in to a secret garden again. Private and enclosed as it was always designed to be.
We’ve had too many bank holidays , I’m sick of them
Your Clematis looks very healthy and very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI agree about too many Bank Holidays. Lots more of them to come yet!
I’ve usually worked bank holidays or at least the weekend around them , so they hold no 8mportance to me
DeleteIt's been looking like it's snowing in my garden as the cherry blossom is blown off. Almost all gone now, which I find so sad, for some reason. Your garden arch looks so inviting. A real secret garden indeed. More bank holidays to come yet, so gird your loins, John! xx
ReplyDeleteAnd all these bank hols are playing havoc with our refuse collection days, having to keep us on our toes. Pre last Xmas it was Fridays, and by the end of this month we'll have run the full gamut of weekdays and be back to Fris again. Heigh-ho!
DeleteHumbug Raymondo lol
DeleteHH , IVE always wanted a cherry for the garden , but I have little room now. I have a weeping laburnum which I will never see bloom properly as it’s a slow grower
DeleteVery pretty clematis - May tends to rush by, a month to be treasured. Agree about the Bank holidays, with so much that still stays open it feels meaningless.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
It’s my birthday in one month
DeleteOh yes -- definite "secret garden" vibes!
ReplyDeleteThat was always my idea, when we bought the cottage there was no garden there at all, just tarmac
DeleteMy garden is of the ‘wild’ kind, as I just cant do much anymore. Its full of bushes, trees, weeds and even more weeds. One day a lady stopped me and said she loved my garden and she was serious. I could not help but laugh as my next door neighbour is an English gardener, and head of the garden club! I think your covered arch is really lovely.,entrance to an enchanting place. GG
ReplyDeleteLooking at what’s on show at Chelsea this year, weeds and rewinding is in at the moment
DeleteI don’t even own a hose, my first husband used to say the good lord will give it rain if it needs it lol funny but my yard is almost always as green as next door and she is constantly watering! So I guess this old girl is alright after all. GG
DeleteYour clematis is truly outstanding. Having an enclosed garden is always fantastic. Is it 3 Bank holidays in May? Can you choose to work the holidays and earn bonus pay for doing so? You'll have to consider your options.
ReplyDeleteWe get given our duties , working at least one bank holiday is always expected , it’s the way of nursing
DeleteYour Montana looks fabulous mine has took a beating this winter but it’s alive at least. I’ve lost 3 that have been there for years but my oldest one (with big blueish flowers) which is over 20years is taking off and looking fabulous don’t you just love spring x
ReplyDeleteMy Montana is the most common and Hardy
DeletePutting that Montana there was a brilliant idea John - it looks beautiful and it suggests you go under it into a secret world.
ReplyDeleteI don’t begrudge it knocking my glasses off my head everytime I bend down to walk through lol
DeleteThe montana is stunning and I agree about the bank holidays. Catriona
ReplyDelete🌈👨🏻🍳 👨🏻⚕️
DeleteI'm not lucky with clematis - there was one here for well over 30 years but it's disappeared - ones I have planted with slate on base gone too -There's a delightful scattering of primroses front and back this year which the birds gifted me x
ReplyDeleteUsually if their roots are in shade and their faces are in the sun, they do well
DeleteBeautiful clematis John, do you feed it or just let it do it's own thing?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy May, the months are whizzing by.
I leave it totally , ( see the previous comment about faces in the sun)
Deletehttps://youtu.be/LJ7VirCScp0
ReplyDeleteNow is the Month of Maying
Where merry lads are playing
With a fa la la la la la la
Fa la la la la la la
Now that couldn’t have been more gay if it tried lol
DeleteWell if they see your response you can forget about auditioning for the Kings Singers.....I think this is a lovely performance even if they are all wearing bright pink ties.:)
DeleteYour back garden is lovely, John. That clematis is certainly flourishing!
ReplyDeleteThanks to my sister Ellen
DeleteThe Montana varieties really do rampage! Your garden is lovely
ReplyDeleteIt’s never been as lovely , thanks to Janet
DeleteYou're sick of them already? We have two more to go! Personally, I don't think it's possible to have too many bank holidays.
ReplyDeleteYes on the martini! Shoot me a note when you're coming next!
Yes, find a place that makes a good one, American style and I’d join u
DeleteThe winter has killed off two of my clematis. Lost quite a lot this winter
ReplyDeleteI was worried about this one, my sister has sorted the garden out for the past few years, it looks better for her hard work
DeleteLovely clematis and the arch over the garden gate is the perfect place for it. How magical!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
I was lucky, I was able to design the garden including the gate and wall , from scratch
DeleteIf I were still working, I'd love bank holidays as much as I love that clematis.
ReplyDeleteFor most of nursing career ,I’ve worked bank holidays , they are not special days to me, never had been
DeleteIf it's a Montana make sure you keep it trimmed - it'll be coming into your house before you know it! I've noticed a wiry climbing plant (Muhlenbeckia complexa from NZ) I bought at a plant fair in Trelawnyd/Bodrhyddan Hall a few years back that has somehow made its way through the lime mortar and into my house...at least it's not a Triffid. It's been a dreary, cold winter that extended into April. Looking at pictures of my garden from this time last year, everything is way behind. I don't mind bank holidays - mostly because I don't notice them as am just about getting by on my NHS pension, so am caught out when someone mentions 'it's a bank holiday tomorrow'. Swings and roundabouts...
ReplyDeleteFunny where you bought your climber….I ve been to many plant fairs there and many plants in the garden come from Bodrhyddan ( for those that don’t know it’s a large private house a few miles north of the village )
DeleteMagically beautiful clematis. It makes the entrance to your garden sing with delight and possibility! Thanks ever so much for sharing and brightening the day.
ReplyDeleteMy sister cut it right back last year and I should have trusted her professional judgement as I feared it wouldn’t come back, but it has, bigger and better
DeleteI know it is May 1st and I have not used any of my vacation yet.
ReplyDeleteThat takes some doing , 5 months without a break! I would have gone gaga,
DeleteThe photo does look like a Secret Garden. I have always enjoyed seeing your garden, so different from my desert one.
ReplyDeleteYes, yours is so more sculptural
DeleteLucky you John. It is a secret garden entrance! Jackie
ReplyDeleteI love that nature provides you with a secret garden.
ReplyDeleteMontana is the best! I agree about Bank Holidays, in France it's even worse. No-one works for almost the whole of May. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteOh, it's looking so pretty!
ReplyDeleteYour plan for the entrance to seem to be to a secret garden has worked very well. It looks just right!
ReplyDeleteI can't keep track of all the Bank Holidays ... I'll just consider EVERY Monday a Bank Holiday from now on, it'll be less confusing. ;-)
ReplyDelete