In praise of neglected areas. I saw these three Mulleins (Verbascum thapsus) growing in the corner of a semi derelict pub car park. V. thapsus puts on a tall spike of yellow flowers and thrives on the margins- wasteland, railway sidings, disturbed ground etc.

 "It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under" to quote an old hit. I let the garden run wild as the year progresses with a bit of trimming here and there.
 The Geranium x oxonianum blooms prolifically in June with masses of pink flowers; some of a pale pink, some darker.

The flowers attract all kinds of bees, large and small.

  A few clumps have flowers with a curious mutation. I think it must be the same species because I have noticed the same phenomenon elsewhere among drifts of G. x oxonianum.

 As mentioned recently Purple Toadflax (Linaria purpurea) is particularly vigorous this year. The slender but sturdy stems are topped by a spike of flowers which bumblebees clamber up briskly, feeding as they go.

 Euphorbia oblongata -sometimes called Balkan Spurge- has been flowering in the garden for months now. It appeared last year of its own accord (though smaller); a seed or two must have come in from somewhere. And this year it has bloomed magnificently.

Bee happy.

 Happy to see this sturdy Foxglove in the garden. I was expecting it to be the Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) but it's turned out to be the less common D. purpurea f. albiflora i.e. the white flowered form of the purple foxglove. A happy accident- I grew it from seed and I'd forgotten that some seeds I saved a year or two back were a mix of both.

Several pots of this beautiful Aquilegia were given to me by my next door neighbour who grew them from seed. In shape it bears a clear resemblance to our native Aquilegia vulgaris -from which various garden varieties have been bred- but this is the American Aquilegia formosa. The intense red and yellow flowers are a striking contrast to the blue/purple tones of A. vulgaris.
 I was particularly pleased to accept this gift as I had seen them growing in great number last year on the slopes of Mount Eddy in northern California where the snow melt creates lush meadows in summer:

 I'll be heading to the States again this summer to do some hiking in the Lake Tahoe area on the California/Nevada border. The Meiss Meadows Roadless Area and the Desolation Wilderness can be accessed from Tahoe using the Pacific Crest Trail so maybe I'll get to see some more of A. formosa in its natural habitat.