July

It has been a fairly quiet month in the garden, although I have been able to sit out there more than usual due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The vegetable patch has not been an overwhelming success;  I harvested a few carrots and spring onions, and the parsnips appear to be doing ok, the salad leaves and lettuce have all bolted and the beans have been eaten by the slugs and snails. They have also had a jolly good munch on the cabbages. The kale appears to have white rust and I dug up most of the cauliflower plants as they bolted too. The potatoes were reasonably successful and have been harvested and stored, and I have had a small second crop of strawberries. Today I pulled up the remaining lettuce and replaced with pea plants. I imagine they'll have been devoured by the morning!

The tomatoes are fruiting, as are some of the pepper plants in the lean to. The courgettes and squashes all got eaten so I have restarted and am growing them in pots in the lean-to for now. Hopefully this will work!

The flower garden is looking good, with towers of mallow, evening primrose and golden rod, as well as the ever- flowering English Marigolds. The geraniums have been cut back but will flower again soon I am sure. The Hydrangea is covered in pink lacecaps which are very pretty. Fuchsias are flowering, as are pink Clarkia, lemon-yellow hollyhocks, sweet peas and Scabious and the ever present flipping bindweed! 

In the herb garden the creeping thyme has just finished flowering as has the purple sage and lavender. All were covered in bees, which was delightful, and they have now moved on to the golden oregano, fennel and hyssop. 

Seed has been collected from English Marigolds, foxgloves, honesty, lavender, flax, and Sweet William. Basil has been potted up but now needs potting on again! Cuttings have been taken from variegated Lamium, fuchsia, pinks, geraniums, gypsophila and oregano, and I have been given a lovely orange lily and an Ophiopogon nigrescens (black lily grass) by kind friends.