Fires and frazzled flowers!
The garden and I have just about survived the heatwave’s extreme temperatures. Quite a few plants struggled in our south-facing back garden; the front garden is north facing and fared better. We were out in the garden very early in the morning, with Barry doing any watering needed in
the back garden and me taking care of the front garden. The borders are now bursting with pretty colours and look lovely.
I couldn’t be more thrilled with my new dahlias – intense purple, soft peach-orange, another is a mixture of those two colours and a white one with a pink-purple centre. My ‘Provence’ sunflowers didn’t disappoint and the pink and white phlox were as beautiful as ever – until they were frazzled by the sun!
Veggies in the greenhouse are catching up after a late start and I’ve picked lots of cucumbers. Tomatoes are ripening and there are plenty of peppers, chillies and aubergines set. Basils have grown like mad and I’m going to have a go at making some pesto. We’ve been enjoying potatoes, carrots, courgettes, beans, beetroot, lettuce and radish. The sweetcorn is enjoying the hot weather and grown very tall. When the mangetout finished Barry sowed seeds of spinach, lettuce leaves and radish in their place.
In the past we haven’t been successful growing brassicas due to club root, but we’re going to give them another try. Barry’s going to lime the ground and I bought a selection of 24 plants of black kale, purple-sprouting broccoli, cabbages and spring greens.
We live near Bisley ranges and an extensive fire broke out on the common, which lasted for days. The smell of smoke lingered and we were advised to keep windows closed. This was a double whammy, resulting in a very hot bedroom, so when the temperature hit 38C we decided to sleep in the sitting room. I just worry about all the wildlife that must have been affected!