Carefully selected corners

This is the time of year when my garden is at its best; when the bulbs and blossom are out, but the weeds have not yet grown to swamping level. Once the weeds do take hold, it is a constant battle for me to keep up with pulling/digging/burning them out.

This is part of the wild area (which fills quite a large proportion of the lower half of the garden). The cow parsley is coming up nicely. I love to see it when the white flowers are swaying in the breeze.

The flowering currant bushes are all at different stages. This one is in full bloom. I love the deep pink.

The spirea brightens up this shady corner beautifully. Two summers ago, I dug over this 'bed', covered it in weed matting and planted the spirea, a euonymus and a small hebe. I finished it off with a layer of bark chippings. I was pleased, both with the effect and with the reduction in the area requiring weeding. Overnight, the foxes came to play. Oh well. At least they didn't dig up the actual bushes.

I might try again this summer and weigh the whole lot down with some big chunks of rock!

My severely lopped hawthorn tree is leafing nicely. It will be much stronger for losing all of its dead branches. Eventually, old age will win the day, but for now it has a new lease of life.

And in the very bottom corner, under the shadow of both the sycamore and the leylandii hedge, this kerria seems to thrive.