This is my favorite shrub - Cornus Alba "Aureum" - Golden Dogwood.
The new foliage is a gorgeous colour, but it took a battering in a hail-storm the other day and some of the leaves are full of holes:
This is another Dogwood, this time Cornus Gouchaultii, (Tartarian Dogwood) which is the least vigorous of the ones I have, but very worthwhile because of its attractive variegated leaves.
The "Dryopteris Erythrosora" fern has been slow to start this year, (about a month later than last year), but a few fronds are finally appearing. I love their color at this stage - a russet bronze:
Another shrub that is very much behind schedule is the Philadelphus / Mock Orange. Normally by this time I would expect it to be in full flower, but right now it only has tiny tight buds:
The Libertia hasn't been so special this year. Individually, the flowers are fine, but there have been a lot fewer stems than last year.
The Hydrangea doesn't look very happy. It suffered a bit from the frost earlier in the year, just when its first leaf buds were opening, and its foliage looks distinctly pale and blotchy, although there seem to be plenty of flower buds.
The potted perennials are doing OK, although they are mostly a long way from flowering.
Verbena Bonariensis
Salvia Cardinalis
Helenium
Rudbeckia "Goldsturm"
Echinacea
Dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff"
The Geum "Mrs Bradshaw" has draped its gangly flower-stems over all the other pot-plants, splashing them with bright dabs of orange-red:
Elsewhere some more color is provided by this striking dark-coloured Oxalis "Burgundy Wine".
Later on the Oxalis will produce some delicate white flowers, but the foliage is without a doubt its main attraction.
