Some years ago when we were on holiday  in Canada, we visited one of the most beautiful gardens in the world – Les Quatre Vent, Quebec.

One of the things that really surprised me at first glance was the sight of aqualegias and roses in flower side by side.  This is something that I had never seen before in UK.  Here, usually the aqualegias are in flower about a month before the roses.   When I thought about this though, things started to make sense.  Canadian winters are much longer and colder than those in Europe.  So, it is not surprising that the flowers that we regard as spring blooms come out quite a bit later than we are used to.

aqualegia

This year the long cold spring in UK has meant that most plants are very late – possibly even a month behind where they usually are.  Now, in early May, there are the first signs of aqualegia buds, but I would think we have a few weeks to wait before we get to see “granny’s bonnet” in full flower.  There are no signs of rose buds at all, but then again, why would there be – the camellias are only just in flower.

So, the question is – will this unusual weather mean that we get to see the phenomenon that I saw in Canada – plants that usually are distanced by time, blooming together?  If so, then there will certainly be some unplanned plant combinations on show this year.  Thank goodness I don’t allow yellow in my garden and so there is little chance of plant clashes!