Having lost my large flowerbed to Swingle’s feet, I had to make a plan about the future. Am I losing interest in gardening, getting stale, time to move on? The I was inspired by the bees and butterflies this autumn. I’m going to fill the garden with bee and butterfly bulbs, bushes and flowers! We’ll try buddlea from seed as its so expensive, and have already bought some bulb packs with earlier flowers. I have loads of Michelmass daisies, something to plan more in the winter!
Do you have nay varieties of plants you know the Bees and butterflies love?????
I’ve no idea what this bush is called, and every spring I’ve pruned it back. Never again! This year having been busy with dog, I forgot and the result are these tiny flowers but the most amazing lemony scent that’s all over the garden. Anyone know its name?
Following a warm and damp winter, we’ve now had a warmish and damp summer. The neighbours are blaming us, saying it came from England – and some of it did!!!! There was one time in late spring when temperatures got to the low 30s,and today, August 30th, we have all the signs of an early autumn. We’ve harvested the carrots, as the tops were turning, but what a crop! The parsnips are looking good, but they need to wait for the frost to sweeten them up. We also had loads of peas and broad beans. The courgettes and Okaido pumpkins haven’t liked the colder nights, and have slowed right down in growth, and the strawberries were lousy. The sweetcorn may not ripen with the continuing rain, we’ll see. BUT loads of redcurrants for a first attempt at wine, and blackcurrants for jam and liquor. Such a difference form this time last year when the whole valley was drying up.
The geraniums haven’t liked the damp and cold, and have reacted by going nuts in their flowers, here another example of a white plant bearing a red flower.
Next year we’re planting less sorts of veggies but more of them, carrots, peas, broad beans, Okaidos, strawberries.
The summer has still gone too quickly. Some of the sycamores are starting to change. I don’t mind a early autumn, if we get snow in November and the crisp dry cold, rather than the soggy dampness of the past few years that went straight to Dave’s chest.
But it’s been an unusual summer. The hay crop has been rained off several times. Cold nights in August. Sooo much rain. So how has your summer/winter (for those in other climes) been?
I noticed this white stuff on one of my pots, so being at our leisure decided to have a look.
We cut the stem off, chopped and chopped through the hollowed out stem until we saw a stripey end peeking out.
Another snip and this little wasp fell out. Never seen this before. Know there are wasps that do this. Wonder if its due to this warm damp summer and the bugs are breeding? Anyone else seen one of these little guys? He was about 1cm long
The weather has been too nice ot sit behind a computer and Dave and I having costed and thought about it decided to go ahead with the new Pavillion in the garden . This all started with taking the berberris bush out and its grown and grown. The main problem was getting rid of the stump of the Pine tree that used to stand there.
We’ve got all the geraniums on it, oh, might have room for some more! A honeysuckle and a rose on the corners, a budlea, the quince bush and a honeysuckle type bush around the sides. It’ll come into its own more next year. We didn’t like the roof which came with it, but will use that for the party.
After seven years, it had at last rotted enough for us to bash through the roots and heave it out to become a garden feature………Our work now looks great and in the coming weeks we’ll have a barbecue and party as an opening ceremony!
