A good summer for plants

Because of the rain in the winter, there is a lot of growth this year, and if you have taken a risk by planting something in soil that is usually too dry, your experiment will have been successful. Some of the trees are overheavy, and in our road a large branch crashed down from a hollioak because it had become overburdened. The sweet chestnuts have innumerable flowers on right now.

There is a huge tree next to the hut. It's an ash. I have looked for signs of die-back and they are there, but it's in early -onset, if  you can say that, and one of my plans for the summer is to go and live at the hut for a while and stay near the tree before it dies.

sadly many of the trees nearby are at this stage. Most riverside trees are ash or willow.

The ferns have recovered from being split up, although last year it seemed that they were at death's door. The magnolia is supposed to be a small magnolia but it is becoming very wide and when I cut it it doesn't flower well the following year. I am progressing a long term re-shaping of the philadelphus, (it's a battle because it doesn't like growing from old wood) and I feel the weather has really helped my cause. The castor-oil plant is huge. I want husband to cut it because I am intimidated by large plants but I think It is actually down to me, because he says things like, "But it looks so healthy!" and doesn't want to cut it, even if it steals the light from everything else.

He is also funny about flowers. Whenever he looks at the garden he says, "Pity there aren't more flowers" as if he expected everything to be in flower all the time. (He also says the birds sing because they are happy. Ah, sweet.) There are plenty of pollinators this year, but few honey bees.

Some things in my garden look like alliums, thin and scrawny, just a globe of blue flowers on a slim stick. What is this? I don't remember planting it. Where would it like to grow?