Alliums: great all round

Alliums are one of my all-time favourite plants. They may be related to the onion family but these fantastic bulbous plants are real showstoppers. Guaranteed to make you smile - rather than cry like their common cousins!

So what's so great about alliums? they are just divine.

design - they are the garden designers no1 friend - great with both architectural and cottage schemes.

impact - the spectacular round heads with delicate flowers suspended in a perfect sphere create a real wow factor

variety - from compact drumsticks to showy plate sized spheres alliums come in all colours and sizes including yellow, purple, blue and white

intricate - each allium head draws you in to marvel at its detailed composition with tiny flowers held aloft on slender stems in a perfect sphere

nature loving - the butterflies and bees love them

elegant - with graceful long perfectly straight stems holding striking heads they give balance and height to borders and containers

Alliums are easy to grow - they just like a sunny spot and they'll return happily every year. With so many different types they flower from April to August in my garden.

My favourites include:

Allium cristophii: this was the first allium I bought (because of the name it shares with my husband) It has a large metallic purple spherical head that looks great in flower or dried.

A. schubertii: another large allium with a head that looks like a burst of fireworks.

A. sphaerocephalon: compact pinky drumsticks on long wiry stems that last for ages.

A. nigrum: dome shaped white flowers on a long tall stem

Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation' - a tight deeper purple round head on a tall stem. For really tall and massive purple heads try Allium giganticum or globemaster.

Allium moly: a small allium with yellow flowers

Allium bulgaricum - an unusual drooping flowerhead in white with purple markings

Glad all over

No more blues - I'm in the pink this week. Yes, my gladioli and lilies are a stunning crescendo in pink. The first of the pink dahlia's, elegant pink fuschia's and the willowy verbena bonesaris flowers are also poking out.

Other treasures from this weeks garden include the striking bell shapes of the agapanthus, the strong velevety blackcurrant flowers of the hollyhocks, the gold and orange fronds of crocosmia and the delicate and spiky silvery balls of the echinops.

In the veg garden we enjoyed the first yellow tomatoes at the weekend - but its not looking like it will be a bumper crop this year so we'll have to treasure each tasty one. Small green peppers are dangling from the capsicum but the chilli are still being blighted by greenfly. The beetroot are looking great and we saw the first tiny cauliflower head tonight.

butterfly heaven

Today is defintely a day for flying. Around my deck is a swirling cauldron of butterflies, hoverflies and bees. Attracted by the asiatic lilies that have just opened on one side and the buddlejia in full flower on the other, its a veritable feast.

The hoverflies also seem to be loving the orange shuttlecock-like flowers of the helenium on the bank and the bees have even taken to sleeping on the contorted lilac arms of the veronica fascination, they cant get enough of it!

Here are some of the photos from this mornings winged wonders on the buddlejia.

small tortoiseshellpeacockpainted ladies

Dont get blue: lilacs keep summer cheer

This week the garden is full of unusual lilac blooms. The stars of this week have been the lovely lilac poppies that have battled to survive the changing weather. It's been glorious sunshine one minute and torrential rain the next. Their delicate blooms are only lasting a day before being battered.

The veronica "fascination" is also living up to its name - forming some very fascinating and somewhat spooky shapes. Dont you think this one looks like a hand?

It's planted next to the lovely contrasting orange helenium or sneezeweed which is also battling bravely not to be trampled by the rain.

The lilac/purple theme is continued round the garden by the lavender, alliums, foxgloves, primula vialli, lupins, campanula, buddlejia and callicarpa and the new buds of the echinops, gladiolli and agapanthus that are yet to make a show.

In the veg patch things are progressing nicely. The peas and potatoes are cropping heavily and the beetroot and carrots are coming along well. I had to rehome dozens of chillies and peppers this week as all the seeds had grown into strapping young plants. The peppers are flowering but I'm battling the greenfly which arrived on 2 plants this weekend. It's such a pain but such are the trials.

If you turn your back ....

Turn your back on your garden for a month in June and it goes mad. I imagine its like having teenagers that are left at home while your away. Things start appearing everywhere, lying around where they're not meant to and generally letting their hair down and getting unruly. But then there are the surprises. The plants that blossom and sprout to greet you when you get back. It's like a new garden.

Talking of new gardens I've spent the last month in Australia trying to landscape a new garden. Now that's a different challenge. No soil just sand. And no I dont mean sandy soil like you get here, it's just like a visit to the beach! More on that in a later blog.

Since I've got back I've spent the last few evenings trying to pull out the worst of the weeds - some of which, like the giant lobelia - are taller than me! Speaking of giant plants - there's a fantastic 7ft tall purple foxglove by the shed. The drift of pink and white wild foxgloves on the bank looked great when I got back.

The purple lupins are in full bloom and still looking very striking in contrast to the gold and orange geums they're planted with.

I'm still trying to work out what I've missed. A few daylilys maybe, but the tall cardocrinium lillies are open now and sporting lovely white trumpets with yellow centres. The delicate lilac, purple and white bells of the campanula are all round the garden. While the profuse pink roses are fading now the delicate buds of the white and red roses are peeping out. The ligularia has thrown its tall yellow flowered spires and the two tone primula vialli spikes are standing tall.

The veg patch is looking fantastic. Luckily my dad did a fantastic job of keeping it (and the grass) under control while I was away (thanks dad!) so other than some shot salad leaves and radish everything else is progressing nicely. We've been savouring the first of the new pototoes, turnips and peas and the last of the strawberries this week. The tomatoes, beetroot, carrots and caulis are growing nicely and the chillies & peppers have formed this amazing dense wall of green!

Back to it... more weeds to pull.