The persicaria in B2 softens the edge of the bed nicely, but there is too much of it, and it’s rather dull in winter when the foliage dies down. It certainly needs to be reduced, and new plants planted behind it. This variety is ‘Donald Lowndes’, has an AGM, and is said to be partially evergreen. We’ll see what happens this coming winter.

Although only planted one year ago this rose is already doing very well. Lovely colour and scent. At this size it is easy to deadhead, but eventually it should cover the E side of the house.

Thalictrum aquilegifolium planted in two beds in the back garden in May 2016. Last year it did well. This year it’s enormous, and was obscuring plants behind it in B2, so at the end of May I cut about half the stems to the ground. This seems to have worked, and it’s now (15th June) flowering nicely. It’s quite exposed to the wind, particularly in B2, but bamboo cane supports work well.

The plants are now about 8′ tall. The bamboo canes reach about 5′ above the ground.

The valerian from the original garden flops nicely over the gravel where the car is left near the bay tree. It seeds freely in the gravel, but the seedlings look quite nice and can be pulled up easily. There are quite a few valerian seedlings under the car. They must grow while I’m away, but of course, I very rarely see them. There’s a lot more scope for planting in the gravel, particularly in the front garden.

Another relic from the London garden. Just keeps going

There is at least one cat round here that gets driven into a frenzy by my catmint (Nepeta × faassenii). It gets rolled on, scratched and worse. The plants don’t seem to be as attractive once they’ve grown a bit. These covers made of chicken wire are showing some promise. I might try Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ which should be more durable.

The erysimum in B3 and the euphorbia in B1 have both grown spectacularly. Too much and fast for their root systems to keep up. These supports made from three stakes and c. 5mm cord worked well. Later (June 17) the support was effectively invisible

This plant inherited from the original garden is clearly a pieris, but it’s not the common Pieris forestii ‘Forest Flame’. The flowers do not hang down in panicles, the leaves are not so pointed, and the young foliage is not so red. It’s name remains a mystery, but there is a very similar plant in the arboretum at Dyffryn Gardens