..but how I long for a green garden! After weeks of blisteringly hot, dry weather I can’t be the only gardener who anxiously watches the weather forecast for even a hint of rain. In fact to be fair it did rain last Friday afternoon for a couple of hours but it didn’t make any difference at all. Two waterbuts (out of six) are empty and the others are running very low, but the rain made absolutely no difference to their levels. At first it was a novelty using a hose and waterbut pump to empty bathwater onto the flowerbeds but I’m now getting tired of dragging the hose and pump upstairs. In fact I’m not even sure that it makes that much difference to the plants but as I leave the hose on the earth rather than spraying the water around I hope that the water is sinking in.
Of course it’s not all bad, how could it be, what a treat to be able to sit out in the garden late into the evening watching the bats flying round and not to need a jumper. Another bonus has been the sheer number of butterflies in the garden – there are just clouds of them. We are currently seeing many Cabbage Whites, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, along with Common Blue, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and the odd Brimstone.
There are plants that are valiantly flowering including a very persistent perennial Helianthus. The flowers are lovely but what a thuggish plant! It has taken over a large flower bed even though I have spent the last two winters digging and pulling out every bit of root that I can find and burning it. There it is though in all its glory just as vigorous as ever and funnily enough it seems to relish the heat, lack of rain and rock hard soil. Maybe I should just let it take over the whole garden! Phlox also seem to be coping in the conditions. Phlox White Admiral is just coming into flower and around the garden various other varieties in shades of pink and purple are also doing well. Bronze fennel loves the heat, a self sown plant at the corner of one of the outbuildings is doing really well and attracting plenty of bees and hoverflies. Eryngium “Miss Wilmott’s Ghost” is a plant I have long coveted. I can’t count the number of times I have sown seed and nurtured the seedlings only for them to disappear without trace. Two years ago I had what I decided was a final try. Seed was sown and left in a tray outside on a potting bench and ignored. After a year I saw seedlings but thought they would probably turn out to be weeds of some sort, however I persevered, pricked them out and potted them on. They didn’t grow that well in the pots but I decided to stick them in the ground and let them take care of themselves – well they did and this year they look splendid. Not huge but good enough and hopefully they will start to seed around and luckily I planted them in the bed that has grasses so they look just right!
A real surprise in this hot weather is how well hydrangeas are doing. They are a recent discovery of mine – it has taken me years to decide I like them. Now I love them and we have several, many purchased at a plant auction a couple of years ago. A specialist nursery was closing down and selling off its stock and we managed to secure a number of small named hydrangeas. I didn’t have a clue what any of them would be like and it was a bit of a gamble as we have free draining sandy soil. Some are currently being grown in containers while we decide the best place for them and others are already enjoying a spot in the garden. If they start to wilt a little a quick drench with a watering can soon perks them up.
Hydrangea aspera Peter Chappell (above and below) note the lovely large leaves which are slightly felty to the touch.
Hydrangea macrophylla Selina (above and below)
For now though a bit more watering, although the weather forecast this evening did mention rain for tomorrow, however whether we see any here remains to be seen. Fingers crossed!!
Tales from a Country Garden 