This diary is beginning to look like a weather report but the weather is so important to us gardeners. In my garden we have gone from very cold to suddenly very hot for a week followed by cold again but very dry and today it is cold and wet. I have trouble coping with the weather fluctuations so it always amazes me how well our gardens cope with the changes. Yes there are some delicate little beauties that we have to take care of but there are many species that cope extremely well.

I had a shrub given to me this weekend, an Elaeagnus that was growing in a concrete container but outgrown its situation. All I had to do was collect it, simple.

Off I went with my wheelbarrow with the shout of “back in 30 minutes”. It would not come out of its pot. I tried tipping the container over but it seemed a lot heavier to move than I expected, brute force was called for. The reason suddenly became clear as I heard a tear. The anchor root had found its way through the drainage hole (no drainage crocks had been put in) and through a crack in the paving. Obviously this container had not been moved for years. As the pot had been sitting directly on the paving the root had become flatted and bulbous, the only way to release the shrub was to hack off the root.

The next problem was getting it home on the barrow when a gale force wind came up, unfortunately a side wind, from behind would have been great. Seeing me pushing a wheelbarrow angled sideways at 45 degrees trying to keep this shrub on board must have provided much amusement and enjoyment for the locals! Anyway it is in its new home and we will have to hope it does not sulk too much.

It is time to pay a little homage to the trees in the garden. They really are a treat at the moment. In the back garden the Lilac is in full bloom and its delicious perfume is filling the back, in the front the Laburnum is a mass of golden scented flowers, no wonder it is known as the Golden Chain or Golden Rain Tree.

There is a red flowered Hawthorne that must be many years old, looking gnarled and hollow stemmed but it blooms profusely and there is a white flowered version that was presented to me by my feathered friends. All I have had to do is move it to a better location.

Our two Sorbus (Mountain Ash) are coming into flower. What good value these trees are with their early season flowers and late season berries.