You win some, you lose some

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The small town garden is a jolly sight for most parts of the year. I had called round at the beginning of April and all was well at the front: the Angel's Fishing Rod (Dierama Pulcherrimum) had survived the winter and the tulip foliage was plentiful and healthy. These are the original tulips planted when the front was overhauled and this would be their third spring.

Alas, it was not to be. The last few weeks have battered the small town garden with rain, strong winds and hail. Its location is not far from a wind farm, nuff said!

When I arrived last week the tulips were in full flower. The white 'Maureen' has fared much better, its two foot stems are fairly upright but the dark purple 'Queen of the Night' has suffered terribly.

    
What you can only see close up is the damage to the foliage. It has started to attract fungal disease and is of course very battered.

Time to dig it all up and make a fresh start. So whilst my client was sad about the fate of her tulips, she was consoled by the fact that we can have a different colour scheme next spring.

With the tulips gone (not the easiest task as the planting was interspersed with Alliums which will be needed), the grasses and verbena bonariensis gets some breathing space. I have also applied a top dressing of cocoa shell mulch which helps with the local cat problem.

At the back, the tree peony in the westfacing bed is stunning. My client is over the moon because she has never seen it in flower. Previous years meant a lot of travel for her and she was never around to see the spectacular blooms for herself. 

It was quite tricky to take a picture that was not blurry and my close up isn't quite the success I was hoping for:

The stamens are golden yellow and very showy. In a few days the flowers will be fully open and the stamens will be visible. I may just have to pop back...