Juicy pickings aplenty!
July brought long overdue rain to this part of Northumberland, and it came as a mixed blessing. Vegetables have prospered; leeks, onions and sweetcorn bulking up and courgettes galore for the kitchen. Daily picking and shelling of peas and broad beans for the freezer has ensured there’s no waste. With a potentially large harvest of soft fruits, we concentrated on picking at every opportunity. Some strawberries were lost to mould, but daily stints between showers Left, gooseberries abound and, right, the beautiful ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’ rose
produced bowls of raspberries for the freezer, and the season is far from over. Various currants and gooseberries that remain netted and unaffected by rain, will be harvested this week.
The first greenhouse-grown tomatoes have been picked and harvesting continues, with several lower leaves removed to encourage airflow and increase light to the fruits. Delicious ‘Peregrine’ peaches provide August treats, with fruits thinned out at the end of June, leaving about 40 in place. They’re good value for space! Grapes will follow in abundance, with ‘Madeleine Angevine’ on course for ripening
late this month.
Ornamental border residents have stood up well to the rain because we put supports in place early. Taller perennials, such as Symphytum caucasicum (blue comfrey) and helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’, need staking. The comfrey was pruned to ground level after flowering in June, but now it’s shaping up for a repeat performance.
Clusters of small, yellow flowers set on the tall stems of ancient woad ( Isatis tinctoria) have just given way to countless seeds, which I collect and pass on to fellow gardeners. It self- sows every year and always puts a smile on my face, as does the whiteflushed pink rose rescued from rubble in a walled garden of a medieval manor house in Nottingham. It appeared in the deeds as a ‘crusader’ rose and I was fortunate to receive a stem cutting. I believe it to be ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’. It’s not as
prolific in flower as sweetheart rose (‘Cécile Brünner’) growing nearby, but how satisfying to have plants of such interest and historic connection on board!