It’s not the corn of Oklahoma but the quintessential British buttercup, utterly pointless commercially but a fabulous sight. It’s Ranunculus acris, the Meadow Buttercup rather than the Creeping Buttercup R repens which comprises half our lawn. It has occurred to me that weakening the grass in the meadow bit in the garden with Yellow Rattle will open up more space for Creeping Buttercup rather defeating the object of greater floristic diversity?
Lush May and the silage has been being gathered before the expected downpours, the drone of the machines in the fields and then the sudden rattle of farm machinery belting by on the road.
Over the last few days the indolence of full summer has hit me, the plants in greenhouse and conservatory stressed by high temperatures, and plants to go in the garden stacking up with nowhere to put ’em until we have some softening rain and a bit of overcast weather.
There may well be a June flowering gap as many plants are already in full flower. Peony Buckeye Belle is well ahead of the other herbaceous peonies though, what a fabulous colour.
First roses into flower have been Louis XIV, the deep red flowers scorched as usual, three already here, Mary Rose, Handel and Queen Elizabeth, and Gloire de Dijon restored for now at least to a luscious apricot colour (last year it flowered more pink which apparently it does sometimes when it’s hot).
The starling missions stopped a few days ago so they must have fledged well ahead of last year.