Grungy Monday 6 and my favourite time of year

The garden has been taking up a lot of my time this past week, but I was keen to take part in Linda's Grungy Monday Challenge No 6. Go to Linda's Studio L3 blog to enjoy looking at all this week's entries. As ever we are indebted to Tim Holtz for the challenge technique.

So out came the paint dabbers and inks. I used Juniper dabber for the resist background, and Stormy Sky, Weathered Wood, Peeled Paint and Pumice Stone DIs. No hesitation about the stamps. I had just received the geese stamp as a birthday present and was itching to use it. I was so pleased to receive the stamp as the geese are the spit of the pair I used to have and was very fond of, and my friend had recognised this. Hence the delightful gift. The other stamps are Tim, Clarity and Hobby Art. The ribbon is cut from a recently bought tee-shirt (the bits manufacturers now sew into the shoulders to help keep the garment on the hanger). They're not much use to me, and I know I'm not the only one to cut them off and put them in the ribbon box for future use. Here it was white ribbon which I've coloured with DIs.

I have to say that luck was with me when I made this tag. I had just got out of the shower and got myself dressed and ready to go off to London for a musical afternoon and evening when I decided I needed to make the tag. How clever is it to do this when wearing a pair of freshly laundered snow white trousers. Well, would you believe, the trousers survived unsullied, but the inky fingers looked a bit out of place with the nail varnish and jewellery !

Weatherwise it's been an unusual year to date. So cold in the early stages that the Spring bulbs were all late, and throughout April so warm, hot even, that the shrubs, roses and clematis are all early. My Weigela 'Bristol Ruby.'

The lilacs.

The Viburnum opulus sterile, or Snowball Tree as it is known in these parts.

The perfumed Choisya ternata.

In this beautiful weather it's been a real treat to have meals in the garden and be able to look up at the mass of white blooms on the Snowball tree, choisya and another viburnum.

The clemmies are out too. My macropetalas are finished, also having bloomed early, so now we're on to the montanas and the early summer hybrids.

I can't remember the name of this white one. Have three different white hybrids and can't remember which is which ! Every year I marvel at this one. It is only one plant but it has hundreds of blooms. This is one side.

And this is the same plant viewed from the other side of the trellis. There are still lots of buds yet to come out.

This is my earliest rose of the year, the Rosa banksiae lutea. The photo doesn't do it justice. It was a rushed shot and a little too sunny for a good one. Now of course she has begun to fade, so I will have to try harder next year.

And my second earliest, the beautiful Maigold who was out in April this year.

And finally the gorgeous big shrub rose with an intoxicating perfume, the Blanc Double de Coubert.

The first blooms of quite a few other roses are out but not yet in profusion.