Garden yet again

My blips are all very domestic at the moment because I'm going out of my way (i.e. not going anywhere) to try to avoid covid over the next 10 days.

A fortnight ago this stretch of soil was invisible, completely covered in day lilies along with Japanese anemones, aquilegia, periwinkle, lily of the valley, geranium, poppies, Michaelmas daisy, spurge, forget-me-not and less popular beauties such as dandelion, buttercup and bramble.

It's been heavy work digging plants out of dry soil but today's rain made the last lot easier and so far 22 people have collected plants, with a few more still to collect, and I have delivered plants to two households. If I'd left this clearance to the builders they'd have ploughed the lot up with a digger (which is what will happen, sadly, to the apple tree in the middle of the picture and the rose at the far right). I'm pleased that most of my plants, ordinary as they are, will bloom in so many other gardens.

One collector today hauled an enormous trug onto the bus and is coming back tomorrow for more for a plant sale in support of Ukrainian refugees. He'll also be selling about a thousand sunflower seedlings there, encouraging us all to grow Ukraine's national flower this summer. For those with long sight, Syria's national flower is jasmine, Afghanistan's is red tulips, Eritrea's is gerbera, Ethiopia's is the calla lily and Kurdistan's is the reverse tulip. I'd definitely grow that if I could.