Picture gallery
We are heading out to the garden on Friday after a brief week away. And I have become engrossed in all things vineyardesque here in London. Have even gone so far as to order all sorts of books on the subj at the Abebooks website. Oh evil tempting place. One quick click and the books are ordered and heading to your letterbox. One of the first tasks to do when we get there is to prune off the excess lengths of vine. And here is a picture of the vineyard at Knightshayes kitchen garden to inspire me. One day this too will be yours. With the ubiquitous rhubarb pots between the rows naturally. 
And as it is a dreadfully wet afternoon here, time to have a rummage about the folders to check and see if any pictures have been ignored. I noticed this one. Can’t remember when I did the major pruning of the box bush (sorry, sculpture) next to our front door. But I do recall that it took two wheelbarrow loads of cuttings to make it tidy again.
The roses in the courtyard smell gorgeous. A bit bubblegum pink, but I will tolerate them if they keep up their wafty scents.
And one other job I have this month is to build up the area for another euphorbia plant in the front of the herb garden. The ones that were planted in the winter are settling in well. And look almost crowded. Now that’s a surprise. 
The white garden in the east side of the house is also hopefully going to get the treatment. (I love the plans one has, it may not happen but the list is lengthening.) The tulips and narcissus did well, but it looks like a weed heap after the flowering is over.
I planted some sweet peas and some nasturtiums, but neither is worth a picture. Perhaps I should plant a clematis and have it scramble up the trunk. Or just go for another daphne and give it some more shade.
More pictures (and they are spookily alphabetical): the alliums look lovely even after they have flowered. And here is the poor apple tree in the lawn. Daisy the deer rather took to its young bark. So I now have it protected by good old chicken wire. It did lose most of its leaves, but hope it will thrive.
Two different types of flowers for the house. The coriander did as coriander does and bolted. So I cut it and added to the floral displays in the house with the lilies. And the other statuesque display was courtesy of roadside weeds. Valerian. Apparently it is rather invasive. Well I say, invade anyday.
Other ‘pretties’ that we inherited were the ghastly other rose in the courtyard. It was rather festooned with vetch last month. But now it has had its haircut and shows some promise. I think we should just hide it with a mighty ball of box.
With the sun shining on it I find it rather coral in hue. The sort of orange-red that would be the colour of choice of lipstick on a 1950s Hollywood starlet. But one mustn’t grumble. It’s not as if it’s the vile yellow of our triffids all over the rest of the farm. I spotted these ones hiding in the terrace below the pool.
Photogenic. But you need your sunnies to look at them.
And to finish: an action shot of the broad bean harvest. And hopefully a before picture of the lilies in the lower potager. If all goes well and Daisy hasn’t eaten them, they may be out by the time we get there this weekend. Fingers crossed.