The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Weirdweather andlockdown – it’sbeenan unusualyear
Looking over this year’s highlights in the garden, John observes things have been far from normal
As we reluctantly head towards the end of summer, the harvesting season for fruit and vegetables picks up and it is difficult to keep on top of the garden. Peas, broad beans, onions and early potatoes have all been lifted, but then they have to be prepared for storing, freezing and giving any surplus to friends or up at City Road allotments where we have our basket of produce attached to the entrance gate for passersby.
The wet August brought on a lot of blight, so potato harvesting has become necessary for all varieties.
Courgettes continue to provide a bumper crop and growing so fast that if left for a couple of days we have young marrows, but still there are so many ways to cook them, they all get used, with still a few left over for the public outside our allotment gate.
Pumpkins are also enjoying this excessive growth weather and I’ve spotted five massive whoppers hiding among my gladioli, chrysanthemums and swamping my dwarf French beans.
Figs, autumn strawberries and raspberries, brambles, dwarf French beans, cabbage, cauliflowers, kale, turnips, beetroots and all kinds of salads are all waiting to get harvested.
Weeds are also demanding attention, and bare ground left over after lifting crops has been prepared and sown with autumn salads.
When the rains, gales and thunderstorms have a rest and the sun appears, it is great to take a break and sit out on the patio with a glass of gooseberry wine to wind down for a few moments before it all starts again.
Spring highlights were the tulips, rhododendrons and azaleas, with displays lasting a long time assisted by many weeks of dry, sunny days
Weird weather seems to have given flowers a huge boost, so we enjoy a meander around the garden among crops and flower borders discussing how things have been and making plans for the months ahead.
The spring highlights were the tulips, rhododendrons and azaleas, with displays lasting a long time assisted by many weeks of dry, sunny days.
This ended abruptly when the thunderstorms arrived. Roses did their best to put on a good show, but then the gales arrived.
Rose flowers all got broken off, pear trees shed all their fruits, autumn raspberries were blown over and my blueberries got shredded.
A few weeks of calmer weather allowed some recovery. Geraniums, begonias, bedding plants, oriental poppies and lilies, and annuals such as poppies made up for lost time and went into a supersonic flowering phase.
Hybrid tea roses Arthur Bell and Congratulations both thought they were climbers as they reached six to eight feet up into the sky.
For the biggest impact this year it must be my Delosperma cooperi, the ice plant and hydrangea Charme with
pink flowers, then gladioli mixed among Oriental lilies.
It’s been a great year for rhubarb, as growth has been luxuriant with plenty for stews, pies, crumble, giving some to friends, with plenty left over for the freezer.
Cabbage, cauliflowers and kale are all loving this growth year, but it’s just a pity my whole row of cauliflowers were ready at the same time.
However, my biggest surprise was my Amaryllis which I had planned to flower next Christmas.
After its spring growth period and long summer dormancy kept dry, it decided to flower in mid summer, so no choice but to water and feed while it put on two great stems of flowers.
We got an early Christmas.