Special Treasures

May is a busy month with lots of visitors- not busy by English standards but for us! We had a lovely party from the south of Sweden last Saturday who enjoyed 2 hours exploring and enjoying the garden.

There is plenty to see and as well as the rhododendrons both tree sized and tiny, there are other treasures to find. As you enter the garden, you are currently greeted by a huge mass of fragrant R lindleyi which spans the burn and a lovely R griffithianum. Meconopsis are flowering where spared by the slugs!

In the rock garden you can find lots of tree paeonies- some are the true Paeonia delaveyi in both red and yellow forms but there are many hybrids- a particularly lovely marmalade and a purple. I wonder if the seeds from these will come true? I have already sown the purple one but it’s several years to flowering!

On the bed close to Invergare, there are new paeonies- a gift to Jean and the garden to mark her 100 birthday. The first flower has now appeared and it’s lovely- P rockii.