Here's what's in the garden today:
The pink striped clematis is doing well - it's the second one we bought and is going great guns. There's another bud at least to come.
I couldn't resist a snap of the unopened iris - it looks like a three-cornered hat to me.
The second rhododendron is now fully out. It's a slightly lighter mauve than the first one. There's a third one to come too, but that's always the last one out.
The Winchester roses are looking good - and smelling nice. The ones on the trellis are also coming out, so some good news there.
All this is taking my mind off the fact that a portion of our garden is now suffering from honey fungus - it was all very upsetting at the weekend as K had to take out my lovely viburnum lollipop tree and half the white roses we planted when we arrived here two years ago. I actually had to walk away as I just couldn't take it. What a wimp, eh … Sadly, the disease isn't curable so we're going to have to line the soil to avoid it spreading and replant the area with resistant plants. And, of course, hope for the best.
Still, I suppose it's a chance for a fresh look at what we call our white border, and we can keep it looking nice for this year by planting a job-lot of annuals. Onward and upward, as they say …