Mirror, mirror on the wall, what is the ugliest bud of all?

I usually find buds attractive but the buds of these day lilies start off with blackened tips.  At first glance you would be forgiven for thinking that they had finished flowering and they were the seed pods or that something nasty was happening to them.

Eventually they open up to large orange blooms that lighten up a good patch of the front border.  However, in so doing they are also choking the peony behind them.

Perhaps it is just that orange is not my favourite colour and even more so after I have been without Internet contact for a week.  How can you become so dependant on something that you hardly used fifteen years ago?

As usual it is my own fault.  I cannot help by being seduced on dark autumn days in the shops in the UK, when I am missing the garden, and cannot resist buying inappropriate plants and bulbs to plant on my return.

I get it right sometimes.  The Allium cernuum buds open delicately, unfolding from their covering membrane.

A couple of pots bought half price from Saville Gardens plant sales have provided a lot of pleasure for me and the bees.

Decorative Alliums are a new venture for me this year in the garden and I love to watch them open.

They started budding in May and have put up a long show but are starting to set seed now, although they still are looking good.

19.5.14

I kept an eye open for my Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) budding this year.  Last year was its first year to flower and all I found was the dried remains of the flowers in the autumn.  I understand why now, as the flowers are very discreet but extremely elegant in bud or in full flower.

When we had originally purchased the tree I had a notion that they had large cream flowers so they are not quite what I expected but I am pleased with the exotic green and yellow flowers that are appreciated by the bees.

The garden has gained  from the wet, mild winter and spring and the Persimmon tree has been covered with flowers.

The little olive tree in the front garden is covered with buds and flowers but I think we are unlikely to have olives so far north in France.

Our Arum lilies have loved all the water they have received this year, with the warm weather to encourage them to grow.

 

This is for Rolling Harbour who teased me when I said I kept a special vase for my Arums (see, I need one!)

The other plant I would like to highlight just now in the garden is the Cotoneaster.  Beautiful little buds and flowers which attract all the pollinators and go on to produce red berries for the birds in winter.  They are such unassuming plants and need such little care which makes them a great favourite with me.

The garden is full of poppies at the moment.

I am in my element watching the bees.

So I leave you with a flash of poppies.