There’s this rush to flower in my garden in Spring which lulls me into a false sense of security because instead of sitting back to enjoy it all, the real work starts here. 
If I miss the beginning I’m playing catch-up all summer and that is what I am determined to avoid – with as few blank spaces as possible. I’ve begun to pull out self-seeded forget-me-not, which is a lifesaver, especially for early bees, and this either allows existing plants through or makes space for something new.Wisteria
I’ve been mightily fortunate that the Wisteria I purchased last October from a bargain bucket at Blooms (forgive the alliteration there) has flowered, and for the size of the plant, spectacularly; I need to do a bit of research regarding the alchemy of pruning or I will ruin it for the next year.Another Freebie
This pretty Clematis, which resembles a Montana Rubens, though not quite pink enough, and the blooms rather larger, has migrated into my garden on the shady side, over the last few years, first with a single stray shoot, and now a vigorous determination. An unremarkable white flowered Ceanothus plays host to it and blooms at a similar time. 
While the clematis flowers, it throws out vigorous shoots in its Montana image, which I cut off to restrict its habit and to better reveal the pretty flowers. The Ceanothus does its own unspectacular thing, and when they’re both done, I cut them both back quite hard, the clematis receiving two haircuts instead of one and they both set off again towards the goal of a similar show next spring. As well as being an import, this little clematis possesses one other quirk – a single bloom with six petals, all the rest having just four.Garden Birdies
The blackbirds, blue-tits, dunnocks, starlings and not forgetting nesting collared doves are exceptionally active now and you’d be hard pressed to find an insect pest or invertebrate in my garden without a good dig around which presumably is why my fleshy Hostas survive without chemicals, and is why I will continue in my attempt to achieve a chemical free garden. I can’t claim to be organic but I rarely use chemicals. 
If I do, it is only on a plant in a pot, for example when my potted Camellia was infested with Vine Weevil. I isolated it and it stayed isolated until all danger to wildlife had passed – I never use chemicals directly in my soil. I got rid of lily beetle by getting rid of my lilies, with the exception of one Casa Blanca which lives happily in the greenhouse and is only brought out of it when it flowers. 
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet – let nature come back and work with it. So what if your precious bark chips get strewn around by a foraging bird – watch his ingenuity and marvel at it – he’s feeding his family in an increasingly hostile environment – let’s hope we don’t face the same problems in a few years time. 