It's a jungle out there. A walk round the garden.

One moment I'm wondering what has survived the winter, then next gasping in amazement at how quickly everything has grown. A bit of warm and a bit of wet has stirred everything into lush and abundant growth. I seem to be the proud owner of a jungle.

To be honest I wish there could be a bit more warm and a lot less wet - I'm rather a fair weather gardener and prefer to do my weeding under sunny skies. The weeds grow regardless.

Just inside the gate is my 'hot border' - which I may have mentioned previously is something I'd never tackled before moving here to a virgin plot. It has been great fun to put together - vibrant reds and fiery oranges, sunny yellows and deep purples. I love its loud brashness. For a few short weeks these scarlet poppies are worth their weight in gold - they will be followed by lilies - a great painterly splash of brilliant red. I've noticed that some softer hues have inadvertently crept in - naughty pale Aquilegia undermines my careful scheme. They must be dealt with.

I have unwanted visitors in my 'white border' too - delicate papery poppies - variety unknown or forgotten - turn out to be pink not white. Damn.

This border at present is dominated by two mighty Angelicas - they seem to thrive here and the bee population of Treylstan is drawn to their fist-sized and skeletal umbels. Behind this border is a small lawn shaded by an allée of Carpinus betulus - Hornbeam. How posh that sounds. Just think 2 rows of big trees to hide the barns on the other side of the wall. I do like this space though - very quiet and calm after the boisterous reds and flouncy pink-and-white.

A snatched portrait of one pink poppy. I spy purple in here too - more Aquilegia.

Below is 'Snow Goose' - a David Austen rose bought from Sainsbury's which enjoys a south facing aspect outside the kitchen door. It's so good I bought it twice; a small rambler having clusters of small creamy flowers throughout the summer, lightly scented too. A good do-er.

Now to the back of the house and a north east aspect - not the easiest  - and what should be a topiary edged border with a spring-time wave of Allium 'Purple Sensation'. Those are both there alright, but I have vigorous geraniums making a bid for freedom too, bursting out of their box edged bounds. Beware of friends bearing gifts of 'Bevan's Variety'....

Spires of Foxglove tower at front and back - for the white variety I am grateful to elizabethm. The now ubiquitous Patty's Plum does well here too.

Then to the kitchen garden  and vegetables. At last the raised beds seem to be more green than brown.

How busy it looks with canes and stakes, netting and cages - and plants of course, all the usual suspects: onions, garlic and beans, peas, brassicas and a hedge of last year's parsley jostle for space. There's room for a few flowers in here to lighten the mood - sweet peas to twine up sticks and a handful of violas and marigolds to toss onto green salad leaves nestle in amongst Webb's Wonder and some esoteric ruby lettuce leaves. All very slow this year I think.

This is a non-picture and I can't think why I took it 'cept I know that on the right hand side is the most wonderful bank of ox-eye daisies and that I just love this little path which meanders through the grass. This is the Glam. Ass's wild flower meadow and my picture does not do it justice.

Then there are all the corners still unseen; the orchard, the pond and the dingle where we try to blend garden with the landscape beyond. Our places, loved, cared for and considered.

We sometimes, as the light is falling, trace this walk around the garden, taking stock. The dogs snuffle and scent the invisible while we point and comment on the day's minuscule changes to this or that. We make mental notes to do or to leave alone. There is bird song and the bleat of a lamb from the hill. Smells may be aggressively agricultural or sweet and of pinks and thyme. Like tonight the air may be wet and cool. The force of the green stuff growing around us is palpable and powerful. Just being can be breath-taking.

I am trying hard but not sure if I will ever keep up.