By Thea Hegland

Summer is in the air and the excitement is mounting each day as new flowers magically appear. The gardeners have been diligently planting after the spring show collapsed suddenly. The recent crazy weather; heat, torrential rain, wind all followed up by a mini heat wave was just too much for the spring display to handle.

The transformation of the flower beds from spring to summer is a blur really, there is simply too many other flowering distractions along the borders to marvel at and before you know it, the summer planting is complete and the summer show begins to take hold.

The first few Roses have shown some colour in the Rose Garden, along with the beautiful blue Delphinium that borders the Rose Garden with its complementary contrast. In shady areas of The Gardens, the classic beauty of Digitalis (Foxglove) can be found towering high with its pastel bell-shaped flowers.

Highlights this week include over 69 varieties of Iris. My favourite is the exquisite and mysterious ‘Superstition ‘which is a deep dark purple, almost black bearded Iris. Late spring flowering shrubs like Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’, Deutzia, Kolkwitzia (Beauty bush) and the fragrant Korean spice Viburnum help keep us pacified until the summer blossom explosion hits The Gardens.

Plants that are currently blooming

• Aesculus (Horse chesnut)
• Allium
• Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’
• Aquilegia (Columbine)
• Begonia
• Centaurea montana
• Convallaria (Lily- of-the-valley)
• Cornus florida
• Cornus kousa (Korean dogwood)
• Crataegus (Hawthorn)
• Davidia involucrata (Dove tree)
• Delphinium
• Deutzia
• Dicentra (Bleeding heart)
• Digitalis (Foxglove)
• Disporum (Fairy bells)
• Doronicum (Leopard’s bane)
• Epimedium (Barren wort)
• Eremurus (Foxtail lily)
• Fuchsia
• Fraxinus ornus (Flowering ash)
• Gentiana (Gentain)
• Geum
• Globularia (Globe daisy)
• Halesia (Snowdrop tree)
• Hemerocallis (Daylily)
• Hydrangea petiolaris (Climbing Hydrangea)
• Illicium
• Iris
• Laburnum (Golden chain tree)
• Lantana
• Matthiola (Stock)
• Meconopsis (Blue poppy)
• Nectaroscordum
• Pachystachys lutea (Lollipop plant)
• Paeonia (Peony)
• Paeonia lutea (Tree peony)
• Pelargonium (Geranium)
• Pericallis (Painted daisy)
• Petasites
• Polemonium (Jacob’s ladder)
• Podophyllum (Mayapple)
• Poncirus trifoliata (Hardy orange)
• Primula (Primrose)
• Prostanthera rotundifolia (Mint bush)
• Rheum
• Rhododendron
• Rosa (Rose)
• Schizanthus (Butterfly flower)
• Skimmia japonica
• Spiraea (Spirea)
• Smilacina (False Solomon’s seal)
• Stachys marcantha
• Syringa (Lilac)
• Tradescantia (Spiderwort)
• Viburnum
• Viola
• Weigela
• Wisteria