Wednesday 20 July 2016

Round And Round The Garden

Wow, wasn't it hot yesterday? My living room is north facing and I'm so pleased of somewhere cool to retreat to when we get warm weather, however, it was hot in there too yesterday. It does make a change though, it's our first real taste of summer this year, though back to form, we're forecast rain today.

I thought I'd share a few things of note in the garden with you today, things which are making me smile when I go outside.

I'm not very good when it comes to sowing biennials, plants which flower the year after they're sown. Annuals, those plants which flower the same year as being sown, are sown early in the year whereas biennials are sown a little later and I usually forget all about them. I actually got my act together last year though and now I'm reaping the benefits. These are just a few of the Sweet Williams that are flowering in my garden at the moment, I've planted them around the base of my small apple trees.


Talking of apple trees, they're doing really well in the garden. I had been growing my two patio trees in containers but decided to plant them in the ground and I think I'm going to be rewarded for my efforts. The varieties are Golden Delicious, a green variety, and Gloster which produces red apples.


Daniel bought me an unnamed rose bush for Mother's Day in 2013. It hasn't done very much each year since but it's blooming beautifully this year, it's covered in vibrant red flowers. It obviously needed to get well settled before it did its thing.


I do like understated flowers but I've also got a thing for those 'in your face' showy blooms. I have a pot of these scarlet pelargoniums at each side of my back door. They were freebies actually which I picked up on a visit to Wyevale Garden Centre back in 2014, I've managed to keep them going since then. They're a newish variety, Black Velvet Scarlet, and their colour stands out beautifully against the nearly black leaves.


After a slow start, my tomatoes are finally producing fruit. My plants aren't all that good this year so I'm not expecting great things but I'm glad I'm not going to be completely without, I can't imagine a year without home grown tomatoes.


My porky pig cane topper, isn't he cute? I have a few of these which are placed on the top of supporting canes to stop any accidents. Apparently, there are many injuries every year caused by garden canes which are used to support plants, especially to the eyes. I'm not taking any chances.


The potato foliage is dying back which means it's harvest time, yippee. You can see the later planted containers towards the back, their leaves haven't quite toppled yet. I love the taste of home grown potatoes, just one of the things which tastes so much better when you've grown it yourself. I'm growing two varieties this year, Arran Pilot and Anya.


It's going to be a bumper blueberry year, my plants are laden with fruit and it's starting to ripen.


I have three blueberry plants, each one a different variety and each one maturing at a different time, which means that the harvesting period is extended.


The sedum is starting to come in to bud. I really love this plant, not only is it great for giving some late colour in the garden but it also attracts masses of butterflies, all different varieties too. I've never had so many butterflies visit my garden before growing this plant. Bees too are attracted to it. Just a good all rounder.


I did the same thing with my cherry tree as I've done with my apples, turfed it out of its container and planted it in the ground. It's responded well and I had high hopes of a good harvest this year, there were loads of cherries hanging from the tree when we went on holiday. Alas, when we returned, every single one had disappeared. I presume the birds have had a feast. My next door neighbour's cherry tree overhangs the garden fence and is loaded with fruit, they've hung CDs amongst the branches to deter the birds.


There's such a lot of things going on in the garden at this time of year and it's at this point when veggies are in abundance if you grow your own. I'm missing all the fruit and veg I used to get from my allotment after giving up the plot at the end of last year but I have to admit that I'm not missing all the work it entailed. I think this year's been quite challenging for gardeners too with the cool, wet spring and early summer, but one consolation is that rarely does everything fail, hard work is more often than not rewarded.

38 comments:

  1. A lovely look around your garden with so much happening. The fruit & veg side of it is still good, although you've no allotment any more. Glad your blueberries are doing well & I still have some in the freezer from mine which should see me through till they fruit again. Enjoy your warm weather & take care.

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    1. I'm not growing many edibles this year, just potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers alongside fruit bushes and trees which are already in situ but it's nice to still have a few harvests. My bluberries are very small plants compared to the bushes you've got in your garden, but I'm looking forward to the fruit, we all like blueberries.

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  2. The garden is looking great, I love sweet williams they last such a long time, we won't be having fruit this year the plants aren't mature enough, my toms have just started to ripen x

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    1. I love sweet williams too, I don't usually pick flowers from the garden for the house but I was sorely tempted by these. I managed to resist though and left them where they are. I noticed one tomato today which is just starting to turn a light orange colour so it won't be long until I get the first taste of the year. Something to look forward to.

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  3. The same has happened to our cherries - it was so windy that the fleece covering wouldn't stay put. I'm hoping my sweet Williams do better next year although there is a danger that the heat of the last couple of days has shrivelled the seedlings that were just emerging from the seed beds. Have you tried just shaking the seeds out once the flowers run to seed? We were away Monday and Tuesday so were wandering around gardens taking photis in 30+ temperatures.

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    1. It's so disappointing about the cherries, I look forward to them every year and something always happens. I think I need to take better care of them. I'm rubbish at identifying seedlings and end up weeding out flowers instead of weeds, Mick's even worse than I am. I think I'll have to leave this area be this year and see if I can save myself a job this time. Hasn't it been hot? It's slightly cooler today which I'm not complaining about, just waiting for the rain to arrive now.

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  4. I have Sweet William seeds to sow, they are lovely flowers. Your garden is looking good.

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    1. I usually buy sweet williams for the house as soon as they come in to season but I haven't this year, I really must rectify that.

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  5. You've got a lovely selection of fruit in your garden. The petals on that red rose look so thick and soft.
    I do like your pig, he's got a cute face!
    Lisa x

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    1. I always find fruit a bit hit and miss, some things come good but not everything does. I wasn't a lover of roses until these past few years, now I just can't get enough of them. You know how much I love pigs, I actually have quite a few in the garden of one sort or another.

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  6. I have had the opposite experience with fruit trees. The ones I planted in open soil have not done well (the soil is very dry and sandy, which they don't like)but this year I have a new apple tree growing in a container and it seems to be doing much better. I know what you mean about not being able to imagine a year without homegrown tomatoes. Mine have just contracted blight, so it's touch-and-go whether I'll get any worthwhile harvest. My first few Maskotkas are just going red, so hopefully they will survive long enough for the blight not to matter!

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    1. I remember your fruit trees not doing as well in the ground, I suppose it must be down to the conditions, glad to hear that your new apple tree is doing a lot better in a container. Oh no, not the dreaded blight. That's down to the weather we've experienced so far this year. I do hope you don't lose everything, you may be able to limit the damage with a bit of careful management, at least until you get the tomatoes off the plants.

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  7. Things look awfully good in your garden, they must be enjoying the hot weather. We've come home from vacation and the garden is full of weeds and it's too hot to argue with them.

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    1. I think this recent hot spell is a welcome change for the plants, they've had to endure wind, rain and cold so far this year. You only have to turn your back for two minutes and the weeds grow out of control, they're not so easy to manage when the weather's so hot.

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  8. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Everything is looking colourful and good.
    Yes it was way too hot for me. I agree with your last sentence about it having been a challenging year for gardener's.
    Happy gardening. Flighty xx

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    1. Things are doing well considering the weather we've had so far this year. It was far too warm for me too yesterday and the forecast rain for today hasn't arrived yet, there's a bit of a breeze here though. There's usually some challenge being thrown at gardeners, it's the weather this year.

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  9. You are doing really well with your tomatoes, ours are sadly lacking. The apple tree is in a container and doing well, we do keep wondering if to plant it in the ground.

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    1. My tomato plants aren't as good as they usually are so I'm pleased that they're starting to produce some fruit, I've noticed some starting to ripen today too, it must be the lovely weather we're having. I would have kept my fruit trees in containers but they weren't doing so well, they look much healthier in the ground and they're certainly rewarding me with plenty of fruit this year.

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  10. What a wonderfully productive garden ...... but you can keep the tomatoes, I have never liked them!! Our cherries are just starting to ripen - hopefully I will manage to pick some before the birds get them!!

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    1. I love tomatoes, especially home grown ones, they taste so much better than the tasteless specimens you buy from the supermarket. I shall have to make sure I remember to net my cherries next time if I want to get to them before the birds do.

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  11. I love your piggy cane topper, he is cute and very useful too! Your garden must be beautiful with so many lovely things to look at and eat. Your geranium is especially lovely! xx

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    1. I've got a few cane toppers, I like to have things in the garden which make me smile, but they're extremely useful too. I've just taken some cuttings from my geraniums, they're such a lovely variety and everyone passes a comment about them when they visit so I thought I'd propagate some so that I can pass them on to admirers.

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  12. Everything looks amazing, Jo. We had a lovely day yesterday too - hot and sunny which meant bedroom curtains needed closed to try to keep out the worst of the heat so we could sleep at night. Then today - typically - it poured and thundered and lightninged. Ahh the joys of a British summer! :oD

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    1. The rain which was forecast yesterday never materialised, you obviously got it instead. I haven't looked at the forecast for today yet but it's extremely warm again. It's looking a bit dull at the moment but it looks as though the sun could break through later.

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  13. You've got a lovely range of plants. Id be interested to know if the CDs work. The birds ate the majority of our cherries having got under the net!!!!!

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    1. The CDs certainly seem to be working, the tree is laden with fruit which is ripening well and the birds aren't touching them. I netted my cherry tree one year, just draping the netting over the top of the tree, I didn't secure it underneath and it was fascinating watching the blackbirds stand directly underneath and fly vertically in order to get at the fruit. They do say where there's a will there's a way.

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  14. Yes it was very hot yesterday, our outside thermometer registered 30.5 and that was in the shade, our tomatoes are also struggling and the birds ate most of our cherries, my fault, I should have netted the trees.

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    1. It's another hot day here today. I've noticed the tomatoes starting to ripen now, but I'm not expecting great things, the plants aren't looking as good as they usually do. I'm a bit miffed that the birds got to my cherries before I did, I was looking forward to a good harvest this year.

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  15. It was hot wasn't it, too hot really we are never satisfied! I love all your blooms they look great, I am not very good at growing blooming plants I have a tendency to kill them!

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    1. It was rather hot, I do like the sunshine but I prefer it a little cooler to what it was. There's so much colour in the garden at the moment, it makes me happy when I go outside.

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  16. Your garden looks fantastic!
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. It's a good time of year, flowers are blooming, fruit is fruiting and veggies are growing.

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  17. What a great display of photo's ... loved looking at them all.

    Your Sweet Williams are very colourful as is the rose and Pelargoniums.

    I love your pig and a good idea to use these on top of the canes!

    Blueberries - now they are so good with double cream!

    All the best Jan

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    1. There's so much colour in the garden at the moment. Lots of the blueberries are ripening, we all enjoy them so it's a good job that I'll be getting a good harvest this year.

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  18. Lovely to get a peek at what's growing in your garden. I bet you were thrilled to see the rose finally come into it's own. I grow perennial sweet william so don't have to remember to sow them, they self seed quite well too. Good to hear your fruit trees are happy in the ground, shame you missed out on the cherries though. Oh....all those blueberries.xxx

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    1. I'd been hoping that the rose would pick up, especially as it was a gift, it's been lovely this year so far. I'm hoping my sweet william will self seed this time and save me a job. I picked the first lot of blueberries yesterday and took them for my mum and dad to enjoy on their cereal, they enjoy eating them this way.

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  19. All of my cherries were picked off by the birds as well - all I had left was a bunch of hanging pits. I have heard of the CD trick, but never thought it would work. Maybe I should give it a go next year, together with the netting (which I obviously didn't put on very well this year!)

    And I love the piggy cane topper - what a great idea!

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    1. Leaving the pits on the tree is just adding insult to injury, I've found them littered around the garden so the birds must have dropped them there unless our neighbours are spitting them over the fence. The CDs seem to work, there's lots of ripe cherries hanging on the tree and the birds aren't going anywhere near them.

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