Last week I mentioned the light. And the heat. Well, the heatwave is over and it was pleasantly cool and overcast… no glaring sun today!
The red rose is blooming happily now, and the white lavender in the foreground has also opened. It always takes a little longer than the blue. I have no idea what all the lavenders are called – originally there was a mix of 10 (fairly expensive) plants bought online, and a gift of twenty small plants from a neighbour.
In this light I find the white Centranthus stands out better. Here you can see it just left of the Perovskia (with the last Oriental Poppy)…
The white one –Centranthus ruber ‘Albus’ – doesn’t appear to spread at all, unlike the red. But the red does go better with the lavender I think.
Late this afternoon the sun made a brief appearance and with my wide-angled lens the colours were immediately transformed!
It doesn’t actually look quite as lush in real life, but I loved the effect!
There have been lots of new butterflies this week, and I’ll be posting my Butterfly Diary at the end of the month again. Please join in, and keep a record of those visiting your garden. I am learning so much by focusing on them for a post each month.
Thanks for reading, and have a great week everyone!
Words and Herbs 
How beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
Wow! Spectacular!
Thanks Arthur!
Einen wunderschönen Garten pflegst du. Good care and much Love of the Gardener one can see. I´ve the butterflies in mind. 🙂
Thank you! There certainly is a lot of love put into the garden Uta. And the bees and butterflies love it too! 🙂
I think u sent us your heatwave–the corn thanks you!
Glad about that Lori… hope it doesn’t get too hot though! 😉
Couldn’t ask for a view more lovely. The drifts of color are spectacular.
Thank you Susie. A lovely comment from you with such a beautiful garden yourself! 🙂
The colours do really shine through in the wide angle shot – a splendid sight Cathy
It looks a bit surreal as it isn’t really that green! LOL!
It looks so perfect and well behaved. Do you have to work hard with the planning to make sure one plant does not overgrow another? Amelia
I pull out loads of Centranthus every year, and have to chop the lavender to stop it swamping smaller plants. Then the poppy foliage also has to be kept in check. It is fairly low maintenance, but I spend as much time out there as I can! At the moment it’s almost impossible to get in there and do any weeding as there’s hardly foot space between plants!
We are having the same weather as you Cathy, we’ve had lots of rain and it came from the north which is very unusual. Everything is looking lovely in this view; the different textures all work well together too. What is the grass in the front foreground of the first picture?
Thank you! The grass is actually the remaining foliage of the Siberian irises, which I have just deadheaded. We haven’t had any rain Christina! It’s so dry my plants are starting to shrivel up already and a few have been given a drink with a watering can, which is emergency measures here!
Poor you! It just rained again here but it is very humid so not very nice.
It’ s all looking great. I love the last shot with your wide angled lens. I’ m looking forward to reading about your butterflies , there don’ t seem to be a lot around here at the moment.
I think the weather here has been perfect for the butterflies this spring. Hope you see a few more soon Chloris!
Wow what vivid colour Cathy! Your border has definitely decided that summer is well and truly here.
It certainly has… just hope something is still flowering in August!
The colors in your garden Cathy are spectacular! 🙂
Thanks Michael!
What a show! the colors are amazing. I think this is my favorite view of the slope so far 🙂
Your garden looks so well tended and it’s making me rethink my more ‘natural’ look. I’m starting to see my wife’s point about it looking messy!
Close-up it isn’t as well- tended as it looks! But I’m pleased with the overall effect at this time of year. 🙂
Wow…I was so much fun to see the gorgeous blooms in your garden. The colors are amazing.
Thanks Charlie! June is definitely a colourful month!
Wow, love those big drifts of red among the lush green.
Thanks! The Centranthus is making its presence felt!
Very colourful! A bit of rain would be good though.
Oh it would… we’ll have to do a rain dance! 😉
Simply gorgeous, Cathy!
Thank you Alys! 🙂
You live in an area that is friendly to butterflies not where we are where chemicals prevail and no one cares about butterflies….I love the lavender and red Centranthus. I thought mine would never bloom but they have and I love it. Your view is stunning Cathy!!
Thanks Donna! We are lucky to have so much nature conservation around us… especially in our village as we border onto to two nature reserves here. 🙂