No peace for wicked...

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... I am already beginning to wonder how am I going to find time for blogging with so many things to do outside. And inside too... Here is one of the culprits for me being away from the computer: trays and trays and trays of seedlings... And I must confess, that by mid-summer a decent portion of these seedlings usually make for a compost heap. For various reasons - too many of them, not enough space to plant, too late to plant... But this year I've promised myself that I'll be sensible, and keep only 10 or 20 seedlings of each kind (well, this multiplied by some 30 is still quite a few, but here is hoping...)

And now lets move to more exciting things - some spring colours. The species tulips started flowering, and how is that for some spring colour? I know, they are quite small, but it is not really the size that matters, is it not? (I am still talking about plants, of course, what did you think?:) Small as they are, they still pack in a punch. The first tulip is Tulipa praestans 'Fussilier' and the other is Tulipa humilis 'Lilliput' (I have to think of some grey foliage foil for these cranberry-coloured gems for the next spring, Veronica incana 'Silbersee' perhaps?). And these are not the tiniest tulips I seem to be growing this year - some are still to flower, and they are soooo tiny. I can see now I've planted some of them in a wrong spot, they should be somewehere in the rock garden or something...

I have also developed a liking for Corydalis. I am still quite new to them, but some of them seem to be doing alright in my garden so i might consider adding to the collection (even more so because I know a good source of them here, in Lithuania, and they are dirt-cheap, comparing to what they cost elsewhere in the world). I had some beautifull ones flowering - C.fumariaefolia (blue-flowered), C.solida 'Blushing Girl' (pink), C.solida 'George Baker' (crimson).

And then there is Corydalis shanginii - what a stunner... First to flower, and still going strong after the rest of the bunch retired. Thriving in sandy, dry, sun-scorched locations, a true workhorse of a plants.

The reason why I thought I'd try growing Corydalis is that I love Dicentras, and they are related. I normally prefer the smaller type of Dicentra, such as D.'Stuart Boothman' (pink flowers, grey foliage), but this one definitely makes into my top 10 - Dicentra 'Goldheart' .

It loooks like the ubiquitous bleeding heart, but the yellow foliage makes huge difference. It is stunning from the moment it unfurls its leaves, till the very end. Lovely leaves, which start as orangey-yellow, truning chartreuse later, and shocking pink dangling flowers. Well, I am told that some people find the combination of yellow leaves and pink flowers alarming, but not me :)

And the last, but not the least, my favourite group of shrubs - elders. Their colourful cultivars, to be more precise. They start spreading their charm from the moment their buds burst, looking like tiny sea creatures. And later they develop colourful foliage, and carry on the show well into the autumn. Well, to be honest, this one particular cultivar, Sambucus racemosa 'Plumosa Aurea' tends to burn in bright sunlight. But there is a better plant, S. 'Sunderland Gold', which is less susceptible. And then there is S. 'Black Lace', which is probably somewhere at the top of my Top 10 list (but I have to do a post about it sometime later, so numerous are the things I'd like to say about this brilliant plant).

Well, that's all, folks :) I am off to do something useful in the garden, and it looks that spaying some nasties (weeds) is the order of the day. Hope to be back soon to write some more about the joys of gardening ...