Welcome to the garden in July. TThe lovely folks over there set us up with our dream greenhouse and we (and nature) are doing the rest.
How has the weather been where you are?! Last month flew by in a whirlwind of gales, torrential rain and some sunny days, not quite the July I was expecting. But the Dahlias are starting to reach for the sun at last and the tomatoes are hitting the greenhouse roof. This year’s sowing and growing seasons have felt a bit of a battle, between the extreme weather and then perfect breeding conditions for slugs and snails, it has felt like I’ve spent most of my time protecting and staking, tying in and clearing away the poor plant babies that have been wind rocked, water rotted and munched.
I have also found greenhouse growing quite a challenge as the summer is progressing! But there have been more wins than losses. The plants growing in the inside bed are all romping (the toms are a little overwatered from too much rain in the undersoil with our high water table), but are fruiting well with no signs of blight, phew. With the strange hourly changing weather it has been hard to keep on top of things and managing the heat has been a steep learning curve. I may have roasted a few trays of seedlings and keeping the trays damp has been almost impossible. I always worry about over watering but it seems I am an under waterer!
My treasures and highlights this month have been – the openings of more poppies along the greenhouse side, the beautiful and delicate bladder campion bobbing about (they remind me of victorian ladies lace collars) – bought from the lovely Green & Gorgeous, black cherry tomatoes ripening in the greenhouse, sweet peas in abundance lighting up the cutting patch, Rosa glauca ‘Rubrifolia’ setting garnet coloured hips and all the cosmos slowly opening along the paths. Have a wander through the photos and a happy high summer, who knows what August will bring?! x
