back in the bog bed

I was shocked on writing up my gardening diary to realise that I hadn't done any gardening for the entire week before this weekend.  I even checked my pocket diary, in case I'd forgotten to write up the gardening one, but no, three days at work, Chelsea and another trip to London, catching up with admin and drill and housework, and the bees and a Pilates lesson, and that was the week gone, with no gardening except for watering.  No wonder I'm not on top of the horsetail.

The things planted in the bog over a week ago are looking very happy, so clearly they will live in waterlogged soil.  If they couldn't take constant saturation they would have let me know by now.  Indeed, one last Primula bulleyana and the final Filipendula rubra, that I didn't have time to plant last time round and have been sitting outside the front door since, don't look as good as the ones in the bog, which have grown since planting and are a better shade of green.  I got the leftovers into the ground, plus some white flowered ragged robin (all over Chelsea this year, but I bought mine before then), some pale yellow Trollius, a yellow Iris ensata in the boggy bit, and yet another kind of saxifrage next to the walkway.  I tucked a Gunnera tinctoria in behind the yellow bamboo, planted on a built up mound of compost, since while it needs it damp it won't like having its crown sitting in water.  There is scarcely room for it, since the bed isn't that large, but I do want a gunnera.  The huge leaves are fabulously prehistoric.  The idea is that the new deck, and attendant pretties like the primula and globe flowers, should be screened by tall, lush vegetation in the summer, so that you walk down the garden and come upon the deck as a surprise.  Well, obviously it won't be a surprise to us, because we know it's there, but it will feel secluded and secret.

The Systems Administrator returned from Nottingham, having taken the scenic rail route via Ely to avoid the replacement bus service, and wasn't able to use the new deck having chosen to let the chickens out for a yomp in the front garden.  They were very happy to come out, as I didn't manage to make the time to supervise chicken exercise while the SA was away.  I was originally planning to go to a beekeepers' garden meeting near Bures yesterday, and visit an open garden in Tendring today, before working out that there simply wasn't time to do everything.

In our garden, the Paeonia rockii has put on a splendid display of its huge and exotic white and purple flowers, while Aquilegia are popping up everywhere.  All the columbines are originally from seed, some that I grew and some that have seeded themselves.  There are some quite refined varieties, including one that looks like 'Ruby Port' though it may not be, and pale pink ones that could be 'Clematiflora', but others are the vigorous plain dark purple sort.  I like the latter, but ought to try and remember to cut them down before they seed, to keep the balance tipped towards the more unusual forms.

And that is it.  I am going to go and sit on the veranda before it gets too cool, and talk nicely to my other half.  It is a very beautiful evening.