WAYWARD

The garden is a little careworn and unruly, but I shall only tidy what’s absolutely necessary.  I have a feeling that if I start cutting things back and clearing spaces, I won’t stop and the garden will take on a bare and autumnal feeling before I’m ready to let go of the summer.  August is the hardest month for me.  I used to hate going on holiday at the end August as a child.  Seeing the harvesting going on, the empty fields - and school looming.

TEENAGE CHICKS

The veg patch is under seige - the gorgeous little chicks that hatched at the beginning of July are now teenaged, but they’re still small enough to get through the fence within the hedge, where they take great delight in eating crops, scratching up seedlings and making dirt baths in the newly sown beds.  The mother hen takes no notice, in fact she encourages them in their looting.

I’m still trying not to go into the veg patch too much, as the Bullfinches that have been nesting in the tiny standard Bay tree have hatched, but are not near to fledging yet.  I tiptoed in to take some photos of them and all 5 eggs had hatched. They are ugly-cute and grumpy looking - but then they are crammed into a nest the size of a tennis ball.  Both parents are on duty and if anyone walks past the Bay tree they make a distinctive alarm call, so we try to keep out of the way.  Once the babies fledge there will be a huge abundance of seeds for them to eat around the garden, but Bullfinches also like to eat new buds on fruit bushes and Forsythias etc in spring.  I do wonder who I’m gardening for sometimes.

FLORIFEROUS VEG

The plant featured in the photo (with the purple flowers) is an Aubergine.  It makes a great decorative plant regardless of it’s edible properties.  I’ll be making Aubergine Gratin from these, if they come to anything, that is.  The problem with tender fruiting veg like aubergines, peppers and tomatoes is that they take a long time to ripen in our climate.

There are more flowers than vegetables in my veg patch ('Is there anything to eat in here at all?' says my husband).  Nasturtiums are cascading in great orange heaps; marigolds and Verbena bonariensis seedlings are popping up everywhere and Crocosmia has crept into all the corners.  I love it, but admit that it’s all getting  a bit out of hand.  I’m trying to be ruthless, thinning them out to make way for new crops for next season.  

FORKING POTATOES

I don’t know why I do it, but I always use a fork to lift my potatoes and then inevitably the fork goes right through them as I dig down.  Spades can be just as bad, slicing through instead of pronging them.  There’s probably a special tool somewhere that will lift potatoes without damage.  If it removes every tuber (that’s the other problem - any left in will grow up as weeds through next year’s crops) I’ll get one.

I’ve grown lots of different sunflowers - some brown, some deep rusty red and a few (because there were only 6 seeds in the packet) pale lemon yellow.  I’ve also grown some lovely ones that look a bit like how I imagine an eclipse would be - dark centres surrounded by a striped lighter corona. But my favourites are the cheerful yellow ones with deep velvety middles.  Sunflowers and daffodils should be yellow, serving to nearly make up for any lack of sunshine.

The insects in the garden are in a frenzy of activity, collecting nectar and pollen and generally making honey while the sun shines.  The constant low hum of their busy buzzing and the delicate fluttering of the butterflies is so delightful and uplifting that it makes me not care about all the jobs I should be getting on with.

                                       

There are certain plants that are real magnets for the nectar seekers.  The bees love Lavender, while the butterflies are flocking to the Hebes (“Great Orme” is the one pictured).  Verbena bonariensis seems to be the plant that all the insects find irresistible.  If you want to attract butterflies and bees into your garden it’s best to choose single flowered plants rather than frilly double blooms and sterile cultivars.  An infertile plant has no need for nectar or pollen.

Some more good plants for a nectar bar:
Contoneaster
Scabious
Sedum
aster
Escallonia
Privet
Most herbs when in flower
And nearly all wild plants

MIND THE GAP

It’s hard to keep the garden full of colour all through the summer.  Once the early rush is over (Delphiniums, Lupins, Geums and other cottage perennials), there can be a dull patch in the border before the late summer flowers like Dahlias, Asters and Rudbeckias arrive.  There are some ways of avoiding this:  The first is to grow long season performers that just keep on flowering from June until the frosts - things like Verbena bonariensis, Guara lindheimeri and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (above). Secondly grow annuals like Cosmos, Nicotiana, Sweet peas and Mina lobata (a tender climber pictured right).  This is labour intensive, but will ensure fowers for a ong time - providing you keep dead-heading them.  I also cram bulbs like lilies and Crocosmia in between the other plants - either in the ground, or in pots, depending on the space available and the bleakness of the scene.

But whatever steps you take to avoid it, like a trapped air bubble, the gap can sometimes appear when you’re not expecting it.  Our weather makes it all very unpredictable. I have a feeling it will be late this year as all the end of summer stuff’s already here.  there’s no remedy for this, except perhaps to bring in some early autumn bedding plants ...

SUCH SWEET SORREL

I haven’t grown sorrel before; this is sorrel ‘Blood veined’ which is pretty enough for the borders (but don't, it's quite invasive).  The young leaves are the ones to eat; tasting sharp (I want to say lemony, but it’s not quite that). It makes a good tangy salad ingredient, goes well with chicken and maybe fish.

The first harvests are ready in the veg patch - new potatoes, early carrots , salad and beetroot.  All my peas have been eaten by baby squirrels this year - they climb the plants and carefully extract the peas, leaving the empty pods dangling as a forlorn taunt.   They’re pesky and I want to shoot them, but instead I just haven’t planted any more peas.  Controlling pests is the biggest challenge in a productive garden - I will happily squash caterpillars and even cabbage white butterflies, but I can’t deal with them when they’re cute and furry.