June in the UK has been a mixed bag of weather to say the least! We've had misty cold February-Like days, scorching sunny days, thunderstorms with or without lightening and back to rain again! Luckily the garden seems to be keen to blossom and bloom as usual, and only certain veggies seem behind in the growing stakes after such a mixed month. My garden is full of easy to maintain plants and shrubs, as I only get a few solid hours of gardening a week now, but most evenings I take a wander to just water, weed and deadhead, as these quick little jobs all make a big difference in the long run. The Rhododendron and Honeysuckle have been bringing the bees in droves, every time I walk past I love hearing their happy hum as they dart in and out of the flowers. My wildflower patch behind the Shepherds Hut is also coming along nicely, the Forget-Me-Nots are spreading throughout, and self seeded Foxgloves and Michaelmas Daisies seem happy in the shady nook too.
In the borders around the Shepherds Hut I have these delicate little Aquilegia's, which always remind me of fancy ladies hats on raceday! These were plug plants I bought off Ebay, as were the Delphiniums. I would certainly recommend the established nurseries that sell on there, it works out cheaper than from the chain garden centres and I haven't had any damaged in the post yet. The yellow Rose is called 'Chris' and has the most beautiful lush blooms, and smells exactly like those fruit salad sweets you used to get in your pick and mix! I haven't grown Roses in previous years, I am keeping an eye out for any pests, another rose in the garden isn't looking as happy as this one, so I need to investigate.
I felt so privileged to watch my gardens box of Bluetit chicks fly the nest this year! I was outside at just the right time, and I was worried they would be put off by all the noisy builders machinery (we were in the middle of a room refurb!) in the garden, but luckily all seemed to flutter well! The little one who went last was certainly not as strong flyer as the rest, he actually came and sat on the lawn next to me cheeping away all morning! I guarded him from the many neighbourhood cats as long as I could! It's lovely to see them all zooming around the garden now, when I sit in the hut I can hear them chirping in the tree just outside the window.
The lower part of the garden is still under a revamp, we have taken away two large tree stumps to make way for a new paved path to the greenhouse (never a fun job in the heat) and also removed an old raised bed to make room for a new improved model! I am growing mostly salad crops in the raised beds this year, and some varieties of Kale. But it's not looking a great year for beans for me, half of mine were eaten despite me putting organic pellets down! Those slugs must parachute onto the leaves! I am quite happy to just potter around and maintain the garden for the rest of the summer, I am more naturalistic in my approach now, it can just get on with growing!
What projects are you undertaking in the garden this summer? Any surprise successes or indeed, failures? I have an unbelievable amount of apples on my tree this year after only a couple last year, you can't ever predict it!
Thank you for popping by,
Katie
