Plant life under the Big Sky.

Rogersii. About ten foot high in early June.

This is what I was trying to describe in yesterday's post. Beautiful. Laburnam Avenue/Tunnel.

Here our cherry trees are beginning to flower. I will take a picture when there are a few more blooms. Having said that it better be before Friday! I think they are coming into flower much earlier this year. The bluebells are also quite advanced. Leaves well up. It was quite a late start to the garden flowers. Usually there are crocuses after the snowdrops then the daffs. It was as if one day there was nothing and then suddenly they were all out at once.

We have many different types of daffodills. Staggering the flowering season. Except this year they all seem to be out together. There are some daffodills which have the most exquisite scent. I must remember to locate them pretty soon and dig some up to take with us. Most unlike what you purchase in the supermarket. No smell at all. Nor have the roses. Only supermarket lilies are worth buying for scent, oh, and freesia. Lilies are one of my favourite flowers. I have pots of them. This time round I will be planting them out into the new garden. I noticed last year that they were becoming way too big for their pots, but with the hope of moving still in my mind I split them and re-potted them. I know that once in the garden rather than a pot they will be huge again.

I have taken some of the Rogersii to take to our new house (and give to my friend Lucy). Readers of my former blog will remember my pride at this plant's success. It comes from New Zealand and I was told it would not grow well here. Well as you can see from the photograph at the top it did do very well. The three spikes pointing up to the sky are its flowers. But I prefer it's leaves. Large, serrated, and a gorgeous dark purple, which then go green.

Our buyers came this afternoon. I pointed out to them what the garden was now showing from when they first saw it. And what was to come. Giving them some of our home made jams, she said,

"Oh, if you make gooseberry jam I would love that."

I said, "So do I, but they are your gooseberry bushes now!" and the rhubarb, and the butler sink full of herbs, way too heavy to remove....and so on. We have done an awful lot to this garden over the years. Quite an achievement. Half an acre is way too big for us now. But I still can't wait to get stuck in to a new garden and do an awful lot there.

Now there are 5 sleeps to go! Four more days of frantic packing. Cleaning. I seem to have become a bit more organised in my packing and havent had to re-open boxes having packed something that I then needed.

Just think this time next week I will be unpacking!