Well, all I can say about the weather is that the garden is enjoying the rain! A little sunshine and plenty of showers are suiting the flowers and most of the vegetables. Not so much the gardener who can’t do much in these conditions.
Much to be thankful for though. The roses have been better this year. They usually struggle in our poor soil but are flowering more and looking healthier.
The pond has a build up of algae so it needs some barley straw extract but the tadpoles seem happy and the water lily has sent up one beautiful flower. Another bud is poking upwards so I’m hoping for more.
My other lilies have survived the ravages of lily beetles and are beginning to open. I planted some mixed Asiatic lilies in spring and I’m hoping for some pretty colours. So far, only the white ones have opened their faces to the sun and rain but they’re looking good.
A couple of years ago we had a small wildflower bed which was lovely but I haven’t been able to reproduce it since. However, surprises still pop up. We had pink campions in Spring and now two chicory plants have grown. The chicory are very tall and have the most beautiful blue daisy flowers.
I scattered marigold (calendula) and cornflower seeds in another bed. Sadly, only four cornflowers have grown but the marigolds have germinated well and will soon be a golden show.
Talking of gold, the yellow loosestrife ( Lysimachia) are flowering now and I can see them when I’m near the kitchen window. A cheerful sight, even on a dull day.
These have a variegated leaf. I noticed that one or two stems are plain green. This reversion to plain green sometimes happens with variegated plants. Usually it’s best to cut out the plain parts but I don’t mind with these as the flowers are the important feature.
Here are some other little treasures which caught my eye.
I have a clematis which flowers on the top of a bushy tunnel. I think it’s called “Comtesse de Bouchard”. Because of its position it’s difficult to fully appreciate the lovely flowers. So I was really pleased to see that the woody stem has grown new shoots which bear flowers lower down where I can see them properly. Here’s a photo of two of them.
I feel way behind with my vegetable growing this year but I’m trying to catch up. I’ve sown peas again and “Autumn King” carrots in the polytunnels, more basil, lettuces and radishes.
The tomatoes are doing well but nowhere near ripe yet. I have kohlrabi to use, broad beans, Spring onions, carrots, potatoes and courgettes, as well as onions and garlic I harvested earlier. Parsnips, leeks, kale and sprouts are coming along for winter. So we won’t starve!
A warning to anyone growing brassica plants ( cabbage family). It’s time now to closely cover them with fine netting to keep out the cabbage white butterflies. They should be about very soon although butterflies are noticeably scarce this year. As much as we want to encourage butterflies we certainly don’t want caterpillars on our sprouts, cabbages and the like. Put them in place before the culprits show up.
The garden is untidy. The paths need sweeping and there are plenty of weeds in places. The weather and old age are significant problems. Not ready to give up though.
Next year will be our 60th wedding anniversary! In that time we have experienced many different homes, gardens and jobs. Little money early on encouraged us to be resourceful and to use our imagination. Make do and mend became a way of life.
I’m by no means an expert on anything but with all this experience I’ve picked up lots of tricks over the years. I have always tried my own way to do things. Too often ideas become fixed and go unchallenged. I look for simpler or more effective ways and try to pass on these useful methods in my blog as often as I can.
From gardening to cooking my home-grown food, preserving, inventing recipes, upcycling old furniture, sewing and knitting, writing poetry and painting. I’ve had a go at all of them and try to be innovative and practical.
I hope you’ve found some of my ideas interesting and enjoyed the photos. Please feel free to comment. I love to hear from readers.
With you again in a couple of weeks. Bye for now.
Living a contented creative life. 
hi Aunty Freda, lovely blog as always, my flowers seem to be late flowering this year, maybe due to lack of sun. We have bought 3 patio fruit trees to try this year, 1 is opal plum and the other 2 are surprises as they didn’t have a label on, so we’re in the sale. Not sure how to care for them yet but I’m sure the Facebook groups will help me out, lots of love, from Ellen xx
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Thank you Ellen. The fruit trees are exciting. If you have to put them in pots make sure the pots are big enough because the roots will spread. Also make sure they have good drainage. If you could plant them in the ground they’d do better. It might take a while for them to produce much fruit but be patient. Will taste fab. Lots of love xxxx
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thank you x
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A joy to look at and read. I like the way you are so creative and resourceful.
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Thank you so much Rosemary. I very much appreciate your kind comments. Thank you for reading my blog. I enjoy doing it and it’s a real pleasure when readers enjoy it too.
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Such a beautiful garden that I can tell you spend a lot of time in. Hubby and I are always at the garden centre looking for pretty plants but this year they have been so disappointing, guess it must have been all the rain at the start of the year. Everything started to pick up, was like a jungle for a few weeks, biden, crocosmia, fuchsia,roses & loads of big white daisies, but last week and so far this week it has gone really cold and lots of flowers just giving up, to the point hubby said he thinks he will buy lots of shingle & cover all the back garden, just leaving the established bushes, as we are both late 80’s now and it is a hard garden to manage, on a slope, so makes it difficult to tend to garden although when we moved here 20 years ago, we both loved it and it was the talk of the neighbourhood with so much in it, but unfortunately those days are now gone. Hubby used rudbeckia seeds last year and most of them took and are looking good at the mo. Have loved looking at your pictures, they are all beautiful & you seem to be kept very bus
y with all of your pickles, sauces, etc., Will try and keep up with you. All the very best. xx
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Mary, many thanks. It’s lovely to hear from you. I fully appreciate your difficulty with the garden. We’re only a few years behind you in age and it’s a challenge now for us too. I also have a health problem which is holding me back. We hope to continue gardening as long as we can. I would miss the vegetables, and flowers are so beautiful. It’s not easy to find help. They’re not really gardeners and don’t understand an organic garden like ours. We have help to cut the big hedges but we still manage the rest ourselves. It’s not a tidy garden. Too much to do. It still gives us immense pleasure though. I hope you will continue to enjoy my blog. Thank you again.
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