I know my neighbors think I’m a bit dotty because I will wander around in my gardens in the rain. I was out this morning taking little videos (or trying – I am not very good at it). I submitted my videos to Gardeners’ World on BBC because they keep saying at the end of every weekly program to submit your garden videos. I doubt my videos will be chosen or segments because I’m not in the UK, but I felt I should at least submit because Monty Don and his colleagues are indeed additional influencers in this garden.

One thing I noticed that I will have to deal with this week is the abundance of Bishop’s Weed popping up everywhere. Otherwise known as ground elder or gout weed it’s a menace. It is totally invasive and ended up in this country as a ground cover. I will note that they seem to like Bishop’s Weed and pokeweed in the UK. I saw actually on a couple different episodes over the years of Gardeners’ World. I wish Better Homes & Garden website didn’t act like it was a harmless plant. Every year I do battle with it. And right now because of all the rain it’s particularly annoying. I like to dig it out when I can because that way I get more roots than pulling alone. And the problem with this thing is it says runner roots underground so you never get them out completely.

The ferns are fabulous right now! They are newly opened and still opening and very lush. The azaleas are starting to open as well, and I expect some to be open by tomorrow.

I also am liking the way my pots are shaping up. I like combining annuals and perennials and in the perennial category, it’s often a lot of herbs and hostas. I have some more herbs on the way to tuck into different pots (and beds) and I have a couple of pots I am waiting to plant because they are for basil and I need the weather to warm up some.

I like to encourage people to plant planters and pots and window boxes with different combinations. Unexpected combinations. Don’t just do the boring combination of geraniums and impatiens and maybe a dracena spike.

Herbs and hostas do really well with annuals and you can buy mini hostas to plant, and they will come back every year and won’t overwhelm your planters.

As I wandered around this morning in the rain I was taking stock of where I wanted to add things or move things. I have lots and lots of ferns popping up. And I think I’m going to relocate some to a slightly hilly area in the shade to help hold the soil better. I also have some additional ferns and hostas ready to be planted and I decided this morning that that’s the location.

That’s the thing about gardening you can buy plants for one spot and that’s not where they’re necessarily going to end up. But it’s fun and if you make a mistake where you put something for the most part you can generally move it around your garden as long as you’re moving it at the right time of year.

I have been planting lots of peonies and generally speaking they take a couple of years to get going. A lot of what I planted came from bare root purchases, so while they might not bloom this year I know they will bloom eventually.

But oh the weeding! It can’t be avoided forever, only avoided today. I will weed after the rain, but prefer not to weed when it’s raining. But I might go move ferns around later. I will always plant in the rain!

Happy Gardening on a rainy day!