The first or second week of May always sees the Clematis montana over the front door porch bursting into flower...but this year it seems to be heading heavenwards, making a pathway up over the roof. It is the symbol, to me, of the real arrival of 'all things Bright and Beautiful' in the garden - though all those things have taken a battering today with some torrential downpours and very high winds, which have knocked over many of the tall Aquilegias ('Grannies Bonnets') - necessitating a circuit round the garden with stakes in hand to shore them up again before they snap.
I've also used the downpours as an opportunity to put houseplants out on the patio for a thorough drenching, before re-potting some of them with new compost...plants in pots need their nourishment renewed - a fact which I am sometimes not very good at remembering.
Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow - there are other people's gardens to visit, as well as constant 'tours' around my own!
I had to look very closely to find your front door; It is so tucked into the foliage, it could be the door to a Secret Garden!
Posted by: Margaret Lambert | Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 00:36
So beautiful!
Posted by: Cilla | Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 08:19
Beautiful clematis. Your cottage garden is so lush - truly the epitome of what I envision an English garden to be.
Posted by: Lorrie | Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 15:18
Love it!
Posted by: Jamie Chavez | Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 22:32
Your clematis looks very happy, and I seems to give shelter above the front door ! The same weather over here with torrential rainfall - also sent my houseplants out of doors for a proper watering. We are hoping for drier weather to come soon.
Posted by: Liese Lotte | Monday, May 12, 2014 at 16:59
It's beautiful! I'd love to have an entry like this on my own house!
Posted by: Gracie | Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 16:32
This IS England to me !
Posted by: Sheila | Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 16:46