Well, the last couple of weeks have been far too hot to do anything much more than laze around in the garden. We have made the most of the new patio, using it to sit and play games, eat breakfast and lunch, read and study, and watch birds on the feeder, fences and in the trees surrounding us. We have seen starlings, blue tits, coal tits, goldfinch, sparrows, robin, blackbirds, herring gulls, mallards, buzzards, crows and jackdaws. Most of these aren't in the garden, and the bird feeder is not very popular, except for the mealworms which are devoured by the starlings and blackbirds. I must review what I put in there.
The vegetable garden is doing well, despite no rain for weeks and irregular watering from me. The mixed salad leaves have bolted and I now have a beautiful display of rocket flowers, but the lettuces are doing well and taste nice, and the beetroot are coming along splendidly. Unfortunately I had to dig up and destroy the radishes today as they have succombed to brassica white rust; this is not a disease I have encountered before but will now need to be vigilant on the remaining brassicas. Talking of which, the spring cannages, Kale 'Cavolo de Nero' and cauliflowers all seem to be thriving under their tent of netting, for which I am delighted. The leeks and spring onions are growing very slowly, but will get there eventually, the parnsips are growing thuggishly and the carrots are trying to keep up! The bronze fennel is reaching for the stars and the runner beans are twirling their way up the canes and heading for the washing line. Flowers have started to appear. My pea plants have survived and are starting to put on growth, and the broad beans are flowering madly and battling an infestation of black fly. They'll be fine. There are lots of hoverflies in the garden which should produce larvae that will eat them. I really can't be bothered with pesticides. The strawberries have put on lots of growth and have a good crop of berries ripening, with a layer of straw laid over the soil to hopefully keep slugs and soil off them. The garlic is still growing well, but I am waiting for it to ripen and be harvested as I have nowhere to put my tomato plants. It is rather like waiting for a pot of water to boil. I also planted a courgette plant that I got from a GIVE (see end) stall, and a butternut squash that I grew myself. Finally, the potato plants, both planned and unplanned, are doing well. I dug a handful up yesterday and had them for tea with some homegrown mint and some butter. Lovely!
In the herb garden (OK, the whole garden, I like herbs), everything is thriving. I have creeping thyme, common thyme, mint (slightly mildewed), purple sage, rosemary, winter savory, bronze and green fennel, flat-leaved and curly parsley, and lemon balm, and golden oregano. English marigolds have turned the garden a glorious shade of orange, and seem to flower forever. I love them!
In the rest of the garden the flowers are making me happy. My somewhat neglected climbing rose has produced 5 or 6 large, blowsy lilac flowers with a faint scent. Beautiful. The foxgloves that my Mother gave me last year are at least 6 feet high and permanently buzzing with bumblebees. Sweet Williams in at least three colours are coming into their own and filling the garden with a heady, clove-like scent, and the annual sweet peas have just started flowering. The perennial ones will be flowering soon by the look of it. Pink scabious at the bottom of the garden seems to go on and on, and the passion flower that I found poking out from under the shed is blooming away now it has been trained up the shed. The honeysuckle is flowering, again highly scented, and the euphorbia is a magnificent shade of acid yellow. All the geraniums are in flower and covered in bees. One of my favourite plants, Verbena bonariensis, is blooming with tiny purple flowers and should keep going for months.  |
Verbena bonariensis
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| Foxglove |
I decided to do something about the dilapidated rose arch that I inherited with the garden; I thought it was being pushed over by the hedge, so I cut the hedge back. This made no difference, so I took it to pieces instead. This was very easy - just unscrewed the top, and wiggled the side by the hedge like a wobbly tooth until it came out. I have left the other side standing as the rose and honeysuckle are climbing up it. The view down the garden path has improved! I trimmed most of the hedge a couple of weeks ago but stupidly managed to slice through the electric cord so couldn't finish the job. Luckily I have a very handy friend who has fixed it for me. I will be more careful in future.
Finally, the garden curiosity reappeared; there is a lot of ivy along the base of the hedge, and in it grows Orobanche hederacae, or broomrape, which is a parasitic plant which lives on ivy and flowers at this time of year. Fascinating!
Edit:
GIVE stalls were set up by Holly Maslen on the Isle of Wight, and stands for Green Island Veg Economy; the idea is that gardeners give away surplus vegetable plants for free to people who need them, and other people can leave them vegetable plant donations if they have them. Later in the year it is hoped people will swap excess crops. I have got a few plants through this scheme, and have passed a few on. Fantastic idea that is going from strength to strength.
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| Flowering Rocket |
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| Orobanche hederaceae |
