It may seem like a strange choice of title but the reason for the lack of posts has been lack of time because of work and garden activities. There is still so much basic work to do in the garden it keeps me awake at night. But we are slowly chipping away at the heavy work. I was talking to Mum the other day and she was saying that old age creeps up on you. After a day laying paving I can confirm that she is wrong – it runs up and hits you over the head.

But we do have the paving down on the concrete base for the summer house. And, getting back to the title, a side effect of this is that I no longer have fingerprints! I discovered that because neither my phone nor laptop respond with the fingerprint authentification! Perfect for committing a crime.

In other parts of the garden there are plants. Unfortunately plants are still not the priority – I need to get the compost moved off the greenhouse base because – at last – the greenhouse is arriving at the end of next week.

But flowers are coming and I have been delighted with the second year of growth from the Polemonium yezoense ‘Purple Rain’. This is a seed strain and is developed from a Japanese species. I grew them from seed last spring and most of the plants produced some flowers last year albeit rather taller and spindlier than expected.

Being a seed strain the plants are not identical and the darkness of the purple foliage is rather variable. But the intense sun and cold nights of the recent weeks has intensified the colour and some of the plants are starting to bloom. This is supposed to be a plant for part shade but my plants, and I had plenty to dot about, are all in sun. They have all made good clumps and seem to be shorter this year – so far. They will repeat bloom later if deadheaded. What impresses me most is that they have survived the wet winter – not everything did – and seem untouched by these annoying frosts that are scuppering some plants as they try to grow and get knocked back.

The flowers are a lovely shade and the bees seem to like them.

Geoff’s rating

9/10

Garden rating

9/10

I will end with a daffodil. This is ‘Dancing Moonlight’, one of the new ones planted last autumn. It is a butterfly daffodil with a split corona, though it is a bit hard to classify because it has a few extra bits of petals in the centre. It is a robust, stocky plant and I love the colour which, as the supplier suggests, is hard to describe. It is a lovely, luminous, greenish primrose yellow and, though it is impossible to pick favourites, It is very good. The wet winter has been a trial for many daffs but every one of these grew and the 20 bulbs have made a great show. I look forward to seeing this increase over the years. It is too early to rate but I am smitten at the moment.

daffodil moonlight dancer, polemonium purple rain