The herbaceous border in late May

A busy bee in the herbaceous borders of Bute Park, Cardiff, on May 21

I am now being swamped by the flowers bursting out of the herbaceous borders of Bute Park in Cardiff, so I’d better give another update before they get totally out of control. When I reported on April and early May it was all tulips and a few other splashes of colour, but now blooms abound.

I have even been able to identify a few more of them, with help from The Complete Handbook of Garden Plants by Michael Wright as well as Google. But first I did promise I’d show a general view, as last time it was all close-ups of the flowers.

The north end of the herbaceous borders

The south end of the borders

On the eastern side a hedge separates the borders from the arboretum

On the western side some small trees protect the borders from the prevailing wind off the River Taff

But now for some details…

The tulips of early spring are all gone to seed

This pretty red flower is still going strong and I think we might agree it’s a geum?

The euphorbia flowers now have their distinctive ‘cup of three’ form

I couldn’t identify this last time, but now the flower shape is clear I think it may be Asphodeline lutea

Cranesbills (Geranium)

I think this is creeping comfrey (Symphytum grandiflorum)

A beautiful clematis

A closer look at the clematis

I think this is a buttercup relative (Ranunculaceae), probably a globeflower (Trollius europaeus)

I think this is an Allium (flowering onion)

Columbine (Aquilegia), which some call granny’s bonnet

Beautiful blue columbine (Aquilegia)

I think of this pink flower as Polygonum but it seems to have been reclassified as Persicaria bistorta, possibly ‘Superba’

Bee

Heuchera in flower

My first thought was Campanula, but a bit of research suggests it may be Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium caeruleum)

This is the white version (Polemonium caeruleum ‘White Pearl’?)

Lovely lupins

I can’t grow lupins as they always seem to swarm with black aphids. But I do particularly admire how the gardeners in Bute Park use curved twiggy sticks to support the taller plants. Decorative and they blend in beautifully.

Although this reminds me of fritillaries, it is probably a Nectaroscordum tripedale, also known as Allium tripedale, a relative of Allium siculum

Red-hot pokers (Kniphofia) with a back-drop of slender purple irises

I’m guessing lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina)?

I should have known this, but I foolishly guessed “some member of the thistle family”. Thanks to Diana Studer, Elaine Rickett and Philip Strange for pointing out it’s actually an oriental poppy (Papaver orientale)!

Surely I know this? A bit like lady’s smock (Cardamine) but grander – definitely a member of the Cruciferae (Brassicaceae) family – maybe stock (Matthiola)?

I can’t name this one, either…

This one is easy as it grows wild in my own garden – the Welsh poppy (Meconopsis cambrica)

This is a very different yellow poppy

Yellow iris

Looking to the future…

Tight and shiny peony buds

I wonder what will be in flower next time?

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