July 25th

I find one task leads to another!

It’s funny how a simple job in the garden often leads onto another and then another. This was the case recently when I decided that a clump of bearded flag iris ‘English Cottage’ needed dividing as it hadn’t flowered well this year. It was also overshadowed by a lavender and a rose, so having dug the rhizomes out I then started thinking about where I could replant them. Wish I’d done that first! All the borders are full to bursting so a new one was needed. The area of lawn where it meets the drive has looked scruffy for a while so, as it’s in full sun all day, I decided the iris would do well there. The only problem being a very large white cistus which had to be cut back first, and then obviously cuttings had to be taken from it! Finally I was ready to dig with help from my husband, and we ended up with two new flower beds, facing each other. The only requirement being that the remaining gap be big enough to drive the lawn tractor through. After covering the iris rhizomes in black plastic overnight to keep them damp I then set about dividing them up and cutting back the fan of leaves. Of course, I then had to dig up and separate two other clumps of iris. All told I’ve replanted into the new beds 47 plants and another seven are in pots for a sales table next year! After all that work I hope it looks good next year.

I haven’t forgotten the vegetable garden – we’re now harvesting potato ‘Rocket’ along with the first carrots. I’m also trying to remember to remove side shoots from the tomatoes. Mostly I find them in time, however one was a bit bigger than expected!

My Highlight

Rain! At last!