The weather has done its worst – and best
One thing's for sure – the weather is never boring! It's been a mixed bag of strong winds, heavy rain and hot sun, making growing plants quite a challenge at times. The winds have done their worst so little more damage can be done, fingers crossed! My addiction to ridding the pond of pondweed appears to have been successful, with none to be seen (it could, of course, be lurking under the water lily leaves) so a minor victory for me so far!
One other challenge, however, has not been as successful; I thought I’d brought some measure of control to the thuggish bamboo in the front garden but its desire to invade next door’s garden left me no choice but to remove it. On a brighter note, the roses in the front garden have looked great with the heat prompting them to release more perfume than usual.
The back garden had its annual prune, with a few plants targeted; the difference between a mature garden and an overgrown one is sometimes a delicate balancing act to achieve in our small garden.
Against the odds (growing next to a bamboo and mature amelanchier) the bear’s breeches (Acanthus spinosus) has produced a few stately flower spikes, great to look at but not to touch! Not as stunning, but just as attractive, is the small collection of succulents grown from cuttings last summer; the dainty small flowers opening in sunshine become little magnets for bees. The few summer bedding plants we have are growing away strongly and add that vibrant colour that means summer has arrived.
For the first time it looks like we’ll pick a crop from the redcurrants. As we’re usually away at this time of year it means the blackbirds have them, but this year the plants are netted, something I always fail to do. The family apple is carrying plenty of fruit and the figs look promising, so that ‘fresh from the garden taste’ shouldn’t be too far away.
In the greenhouse, tomatoes and cucumbers look promising and lettuce is doing well, with more sowings planned to keep plants fresh. Strawberries have fruited and had their leaves removed and the plants moved outside; a couple of adult vine weevil lurking in the leaves prompted me to root some runners as a precaution in case of casualties to come.
For someone who’s not too fond of chrysanthemums, half the greenhouse staging is full of them! It's probably more to do with a fixation for taking cuttings rather than anything else. Jobs in the pipeline are just to keep on top of things with my wife enjoying ‘just pottering’.