Thes are all good at the moment, apart, perhaps, from the N side of B1, which is quite shaded.

The cardoon in the pot was moved from B1 on 19 March 19. It did well at the front, but was nothing like as big as the ones at the back. I cut it back about six weeks ago, and it is sprouting attractive new foliage.

The leaves of the much bigger cardoons in the beds were very dead and scruffy. I was going to cut the plants down completely, but the stems are woody and strong, and the seed heads are quite attractive, so I’ll see how they do over the next few months.