Chilly for July

It has been a bit cool........but despite everybody going on and on and on and on about what a terrible summer we're having, it does not seem greatly different from usual to me. It's normally absolutely lovely, sunny and warm until the schools break up, then cool and wet till they go back, then sunny and warm again. Some things in the garden have possibly been a bit slow, but most seem to be appearing more or less on time........

Got some coreopsis to put in the gap where the potatoes were, says good for pollinators and a bee had landed on them before I'd finished planting which seems a good sign....I've moved some variegated lemon balm cuttings into the old Perovskia pot and planted the Chinese lantern plant in the courgette pot pro tem, the courgettes in the bed are fine and starting to race away but the pot one got saturated. OK, maybe it has been a bit wet. Potted up the two scented geranium cuttings and the baby Hoya.....got some compost ready to plant up the herb house once I decide what to put in it.....

Nearly there.......

Also nearly there......

Second flush......

Started to open two days ago and now racing away.....

Coreopsis in position.....

We visited the walled garden at Glenborrodale Castle at the weekend and a local nursery, relieved to see that their sweet peas hadn't done very well either. And this year we have virtually no meadowsweet. Or maybe it will appear later........

Coming out our ears......

One might reasonably say that this year's blackcurrant harvest has been rather good. This is ONE picking, the freezer is full, and Carrie picked the last yesterday, along with the last of the raspberries and yet more gooseberries. Normal people do not have to wear a bee suit to pick their soft fruit, but the Humming Chorus think that their job is to guard the fruit bushes from, er, us, and take their duites very seriously......

Indoors.......

I have no idea where this Streptocarpus came from. But it looks MUCH happier since I moved it to the bathroom......baby Hoya plants all with roots and ready to be potted up, one to be sent to Pat......

Harvest home.....

Having a look to see how the potatoes were doing..........some quite productive and others no spuds at all. Courgettes threatening to rot so have cut off the mildewed leaves and also cut some of the absolutely HUGE rhubarb stems to give them more air. First season for this rhubarb so pretty good......

Quality control

Monte inspects the herb house......

In position........

Waterlogged and Sunburnt

A typical somewhat varaible Scottish summer continues........cool and changeable with some very heavy rain. Our few days at Ardentinny certainly not as gloriously hot as last year, so no swimming this time. Back to catch up on BeeTV and rush out to see how the garden had coped with our absence. Some things have not liked the extensive watering.......it looks as though the Perovskia has had its chips, and the pot courgette not doing well either although the ones in the ground are now producing, and the broad beans also ready to pick. Some of the plants look to have had their leaves burned, the sun when actually out is quite strong and I suspect what's happened is burning from rainwater on the leaves. However......jasmine now starting to flower in the scented corner and flower buds now appearing on the crocosmia......tomatoes getting bigger and bigger though no signs of ripening yet.....

Quite proud of these marigolds, grown from seed this year....

Roses round the door.....

Going over now but still beautiful....

Jasmine 

Morning glories coming thick and fast now, stopped trying to strangle the rosemary and trying to strangle the geraniums instead....

Moving......

I am delighted to announce that the World's Most Stubborn Paeony has finally, er, agreed to move from the front garden to the back, after a certain amount of persuasion. I tried to dig it out when I moved the others about 15 years ago, and it absolutely would not go. However the flower bud this year came to nothing, so I think it has to move for its own good. I've split the root and distributed various bits in different spots......some by the other paeonies and some in the warm dry bed by the roses where it will get some sun, will starve them as the books suggest, and see what happens.....

Tree peony not flowering this year, not a lot happening on the buddleia either after that crew-cut we gave it last year.......courgettes on the way, and the snails have really enjoyed the lupins grr.......some more Oriental poppies to come and wondering what colour they will be......

Easy Home Assembly

Feelings of dread.......I saw this little herb/salad frame at the Flower Show and rather fell in love with it. So I ordered one. Plan is to use it for tender herbs and salads that won't quite make it outside. Just need to put it together first.......

Wee pretty things......

Every day at this time of year something new comes out. Now it's the geraniums........and the pink jasmine also appearing. The honeysuckle has gone mad, much to the bees' delight, and it gives out huge wafts of scent as you walk down the garden. Rescue rose just has first bud......organic rose and Crown Princess producing second flush......and excitingly it looks as though the rambler at the front might flower for the first time this year. Flower spikes developing on the crocosmia, and (at last!!) on the daylily. Jasmine "Clotted cream" should also be out soon. Have bought a new thyme "Porlock" from Hopetoun, and a rescue lavender to put in at the front beside Mum's. Planted some Sweet William and Black-Eyed Susie seeds. Taken lots of mint cuttings, and having a go at growing Amaryllis from seed, much to my amazement loads of them have sprouted but I guess it will take ages before they get to the point of being Christmas presents. 

Sweet peas and runner beans have not done well......couple of sweet peas in the greenhouse but very slow and not enthusiastic. One runner bean up in the barrel, have put in some more sugar snap peas, and we have three figs on the way! Chard great, mizuna fantastic, NZ spinach coming along nicely. Herbs by the door all look beautiful. Lots more to do..........

Even the things that aren't meant to be flowering are flowering......

Bee TV

The bees arrived on the 28th, and seem to have settled in well. I have some lovely video of one of them on the orange thyme, and they also seem to like that awful Johnson's Blue geranium that spreads everywhere, so at least we have finally found a use for it. Lots of bumbles and mason bees about too, probably always were but we weren't paying attention to them before. So not content with trying topoison  them and inspecting the poor little blighters every five minutes, Carrie has rigged up some CCTV to make sure they aren't having wild parties while she's at work......

All is unsafely gathered in......

Garden becoming increasingly hazardous. Most people do not have to put on a bee suit to pick their soft fruit. But not only has the Hive Mind decided that it is its job to guard the fruit bushes from marauders, but a ferocious wild beastie lurks in the long grass and pounces out on your ankles every time you walk past......all my gardening sessions have to include the ritual tripping over the hose  in the same way as dragon boating sessions have to include banging my thumb on the side of the boat, and we can now add tripping over the long grass as well...........the bees have stung Carrie twice and William eleven times, so are showing a degree of spirit.....

It's not just a bucket.........

It's a Burgon and Ball bucket. I saw it in the Botanics shop and thought: what a ridiculous idea......but somehow I rather liked it, and anyway all our buckets get commandeered for some Carrie mad project.  So it is now sitting in the new shady sitting corner, where the pong of brewing comfrey tea will soon overcome theperfume of the mints and vanilla Nemesia...... 

Every day another flower.....

John & Rosie's Corner

Have wanted to revamp this for a while as it's been a bit dark and gloomy and had become a work/junk corner......so moved the pot clematis from the front where it has been struggling to flower, took lots of cuttings off the lemon verbena, potted up some ginger mint cuttings and the mojito mint I got at Hampton Court, and a lovely Nemesia "Wisley Vanilla" which I'd put in last year at Hill House for the pots by the door....another one in the planter bench. The idea being to have things that smell nice in the spots where people are likely to sit. We have hardly seen the frogs at all this year......we know they're there but they don't come out of the pond and sunbathe like they used to.....

Alliterative boasty broad bean pictures

One word from us and it does what it likes.......

WTF are you doing over there meadowsweet? You're supposed to be by the pond. I do wish the garden elves would leave things where they are......

Today's surprise.......

Great-great-grandMorningGlory has given up trying to strangle the prostrate rosemary in the next pot out of sheer jealousy, and remembered that it's supposed to be flowering....

Same flower, in the evening. Beautiful all day.....

Now cropping.......

Note the blender blade in the background......daily fruit and homemade yogurt smoothies, never been so healthy....

Down in the forest something stirred.......

And boasty flower pix.....

More boasty fruit pix.....