The weather this month has been typically British, ranging from chilly to unseasonally hot, to damp then dry to loud, wet thunderstorms. Entertaining! However, all this has meant that the plants in the garden are growing rapidly and I am struggling to keep up with weeding. Just telling myself they are wildflowers does help!
Plant jobs have included potting up Echinacea seedlings and struggling Iris germanica. These latter are some of my favourite plants but are also a favourite of the slugs so need to be kept in pots and raised high if they are to survive. I was given some branches of curry plant that I left in a bucket of water and forgot about; they produced some roots so I potted them up. One or two look like they might survive. I was also given some Strawberry runners and these were also potted up. Dandelion flowers have been prolific so I have been deadheading them in the vague hope that they don't take over the entire garden. Apparently you can weave the stems into things. Might give it a go. I went to a local garden fair, followed by a trip to the local botanic garden and came home with an Echium, Tiarella 'Iron Butterfly', Eryngium, and a perennial with large bronze leaves and tall yellow flowers whose name escapes me for now. These have all been planted out and the Eryngium has been attacked by the slugs. Of course.
I am trying to empty the quite frankly smelly waterbutt by watering all my pots and dry corners, but it rains heavily every time I think I am getting near. I can't really complain about that though. The water did stop coming out for a bit as there was some sludge in the tank, but a quick poke with a piece of wire through the tap soon sorted that out.
The slugs and snails are everywhere; I have figured out that mine is the only garden in the neighbourhood with much more than lawn, so they all come to mine to eat. On two occasions I have popped out at night and filled a bucket with the pesky molluscs, and then deposited them on the other side of the local stream. This hasn't made much difference, so now I am using slug traps made from old takeaway tubs with holes cut in their lids, and partially filled with a mixture of marmite juice and oats. This seems quite effective so far.
Last night I decided to edge the garden path and cut about 6 inches of lawn off it, then did the lawn edging the patio, and then most of the stepping stones in the lawn. This looks unnaturally neat for my garden, but was satisfying to do.
The flowers in the garden are really amazing, and my favourites so far are the foxgloves; they have flowered in a range of shades including white, lemony yellow and purple, and are towering above everything else and buzzing with bumblebees. Absolutely gorgeous!
Flowers this month include:
Bluebells, Bugle, Buttercups, Daisies, Dandelion, Euphorbia, Fleabane, Forget-me-nots, annual geraniums, Honesty, Iris germanica 'Oklahoma Bandit', Iris germanica 'Indian Chief', Lungwort, English Marigold, Nectoscordum, Rosemary, Sedum, Speedwell, Strawberry, Tiarella 'Iron Butterfly', Violets, Three-Cornered Leek, Herb Robert, Scarlet Pimpernel, Sow Thistle, Aquilegia, Foxgloves, Geranium macrorrhizum, Allium, Chives, pink perennial Geranium, Geum urbanum, Heuchera, Geranium nodosum, Helianthmum, Sisyrinchium striatum, Sweet William, Campanula, Nigella, Pelargonium, Spurge and honeysuckle.
The climbing rose is in bud, as are oriental poppies, Knautia macedonica, Astrantia and Agapanthus.
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| Nectoscordum ("Honeybells") |
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| Foxgloves |
