Having been declared a drought area in mid-April, it promptly started to rain! We had a very wet end to the month, which boosted the new growth for May. Flowering perennials and shrubs are filling the borders with long awaited colour; the produce in the Fruit and Vegetable Garden and potager is almost growing before your eyes and the Alpine House continues to delight with perfect and delicate blooms. Containers of tulips and lilies add the finishing touches to the scene in the Cottage Garden.
Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii Caerulea Group is a fabulous plant bringing early height and colour to the borders. It is especially useful in the shrub rose garden where the star-shaped violet-blue flowers rise above the growing shrubs and associated perennials before they take centre stage. We love this plant so much that different cultivars can be found in the meadow area by the lake and along the stream.
Astrantia ‘Roma’ is a very versatile plant and will grow in a variety of places provided the roots are kept damp; it will thrive in a woodland garden, on a stream bank or in a moist border. At Rosemoor we have it growing in the Long Borders which are mulched every year to provide humus rich conditions. The pretty papery bracts in shades of pink and white surround umbels of small, 5-petalled flowers.
Doronicum orientale (leopard’s bane) is a perennial best grown in moist, humus-rich soil in partial or dappled shade. Lovely sunny yellow daisy-like flowerheads are borne on slender stems in spring and early summer. This is a plant which needs a lot of room to get the full effect and we have it growing in the Cherry Garden and Cottage Garden.
Epimedium brevicornu is a perfect ground cover plant for a woodland garden, with heart-shaped leaves and dancing cream flowers with prominent yellow anthers. This is an evergreen plant and when new leaves emerge they are a lovely fresh green but gradually turn a deeper green as they age. Grow in moist, well-drained soil in partial shade. This plant can be found in the Stone Garden and in the arboretum.
Deutzia x kalmiiflora is of garden origin but the species can be found in scrub and woodland from the Himalayas to east Asia. It is a free-flowering hardy shrub best planted in reasonably fertile, damp soil in full sun. The star-shaped pink flowers open from beautiful deep pink buds borne on panicles 5-7cm (2-3in) long. We grow it with other shrubs in the Cherry Garden and the Stream Field Garden.
At this time of year some of our borders burst into life with bright green fronds in the shape of shuttlecocks (hence the common name of shuttlecock fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris). It is a native of deciduous woodland in Europe, East Asia and North America. Grow in a woodland garden or a damp border where it will thrive in dappled shade. This is such a useful plant that we have it growing throughout the garden where conditions are suitable.
Polemonium ‘Lambrook Mauve’ AGM produces the most beautiful clear lilac-blue flowers on erect branched stems rising above a rounded mound of fresh green leaves in late spring or early summer. Darker veins emerge from a sunny yellow centre which has the effect of enhancing the petal colour still further. They are best grown in well-drained but moist soil in sun or partial shade but you need to protect it from wind. Look for it in the Spiral Garden and the Long Borders.
Rhododendron ‘Hachmann’s Polaris’ AGM is one of our more exuberant rhododendrons with wonderful blooms in shades of pink completely smothering the shrub. Our acid soil suits it nicely and it thrives in partial shade and woodland conditions in the Stream Field Garden and the Rock Gully.
Erigeron karvinskianus AGM has been claimed by those living in Darmouth as their own, as well as by people in Guernsey who call it ‘St. Peter Port daisy’. In fact, it originates from Mexico. Small pink daisy flowers open from pink buds and fade to white so that a range of shades from deep pink to white can be on the same plant. It enjoys warm, sunny, well drained positions in the Cottage Garden and the Mediterranean Garden.
In late spring to early summer, Viburnum plicatum f. plicatum 'Grandiflorum' is adorned by balls of pure white flowers that are just the size of a cupped hand. We grow it on Lock’s Trail where it can be seen from across the lawn and draws visitors like a magnet. Here it enjoys partial shade among the other shrubs in this special part of the garden.