Readers’ gardens
The past month has been a bit of a mixed bag weatherwise, and our part of the UK seemed to get the most wet days. I’ve had to make the most of every dry spell to do as much as I could before our first open weekend.
Having finished digging the last of the vegetable plot and sowing and planting everything, we’re hoping for a good harvest this year as everything seems to be doing well. But I did have to put the sprinkler on the plot once, as the ground was so dry and nothing was growing. This helped the rain that followed sink well into the ground.
The broad beans are full of flowers, runners are now climbing the sticks, and even the leeks are almost as thick as the ones I pulled up that were
planted last year. Tomatoes have their third truss of flowers and cucumbers have already started to form in the greenhouse. The lawns have recovered and are looking green and fresh now with just a few brown patches left. All the plants that overwintered in the conservatory are now on the patio. And I’ve been gradually working my way through the borders, dragging off last year’s dead growth as much as I can.
It’s surprising the difference it made to the borders. It has been a hard slog because some of them were clogged with creeping buttercups. But, when you actually see flowers coming out, it makes it all worthwhile.
The best sight in the garden at the moment is the crinodendron, with its mass of bright red lantern flowers, and even the roses are in bloom. Each day there’s something new to see. I’m looking forward to the coming months with less work to do, and being able to enjoy