July 2001

The first part of this month was cold, wet and windy. During the second we had a heatwave.

Normally, during a heatwave,I find the garden flat and uninspiring during the day and wait for the evening shade to restore colour to the garden. This month though even during the hottest part of the afternoon when pumpkins and tomatoes flopped with dehydration I still found the garden pleasurable. I think this must have been because the grass, green after all the rain we had had earlier, acted as a foil to the flowers. (Warning - only click on the picture below if you are on broadband or need to meditate for a few hours)

I was better pleased with the shape of the lawn too. Taking just those few centimetres out of the left hand curve and allowing the blue-leaved sage to invade the new bit of bed has achieved the meandering path effect I was after. It helped too that the water buttercups bulged over the side of the pond

The water buttercups would completely fill the pond if I let them so I have been clearing it out from the side away from the pond allowing more room for the waterlily.

The sweet williams gave spectacular flower power to the front garden for about five weeks, a somewhat longer period than the roses which are now very poor specimens. I really am going to have to dig them out soon I think.

The red dahlias, that I saved as tubers from last year, flowered well this month. However the plants I bought from the specialist nursery have taken so long to establish I am having to liven up the bed with potted plants

What has really cheered me is the vegetable garden. After the last two years I was beginning to think I just couldn't grow vegetables.

Although the onions aren't the best I have grown, they are a vast improvement on last year. The brussels are superb. They love all that lime I added in Spring and the black mulch material. Many of the so-called new potatoes were so large by the time thirteen weeks from planting was up that I have been living on a diet of jacket potatoes. For the first year ever the broad beans remained free of blackfly although I had to keep squashing them off the dahlias. Then just as I had picked the last of the broadbeans the plants collapsed overnight in rust. The pea, Hurst's Greenshaft did well but mangetout were disappointing- I don't think they liked the hot weather.

The runner beans have set well. They really appreciated the leaky hose. Next year I must link all the leaky hoses up into one system