It’s a long bank holiday weekend, where mostly everyone, except retail workers and priests, get to enjoy four days with no work, and the sun is shining.

The garden is probably at its best and mostly things are going to plan. The crocus, daffodils, magnolia, camellia and pear blossom have arrived and left in successive gorgeous waves of spring colour. The wisteria is about to dominate, with both its beautiful purple drapes and the scent of Spring.

After two years, it looks as if the iris planted just infant of the new white roses are about to bloom, earning another year or two in the hope they’ll eventually come into their own and flower more generously. It’s likely that the dry site is a problem even though the iris were chosen to be drought tolerant. If they get to be large enough, they’ll probably flower more generously with better root systems.

Replacements have been planted for the penstemon that died off in the Summer drought, and one of the fatsia spiderweb which managed to die entirely in the shaded plot at the back.

I’ve also added two thug clematis, one to the shaded plot (though the sunniest corner) and one to a very elderly rose along the wooden frame boundary to the gravel path. The rose flowers but not well and has become increasingly sparse. With a bit of luck, the clematis will use the rose as a climbing frame and cover the wooden frame from the wisteria on the left to the virginia creeper on the right.

My bedding from last year seems to have survived in the cold frame so the pots are now back on display. As always there are gaps in the bedding scheme and the hated hanging baskets. I have never managed to keep one alive through the Summer.

`I’ve also invested in a bit of biological warfare, or at least biological control for slugs and ants. The two separate packs are currently sitting in my fridge waiting for a bit of damp to be watered onto the garden, hopefully towards the end of the week.

The sun is shining and all is well in the world – miracles happen.