July has been a month of extremes. We have seen the hottest day in the UK since records began and within days we have had the most extraordinary amounts of rain.
At the front of the house the hanging basket is looking very blue from the lobelia and the trailing coleus is looking a little more traily now.
The Long Shoot is looking a bit rain-whelmed at the moment. It has grown suddenly and flopped from the heat and rain.
The rain has knocked the petals off the Crocosmia Lucifer creating a rather lovely rain-shadow.
The Prairie Borders are getting into their stride now. The Stipa tenuissima is turning blonde (as have I) and is reaching peak waftiness.
The rain and winds have done some damage, this echinops has not stood up to the challenge. I shall cut it back and it will spring back regardless.
I have placed the Ensete Maurelli, that is in a pot, into the Exotic Border. This instantly makes the Exotic Border exotic. I have had this banana plant for some years now and it is reaching a good size. I am very fond of it. You may note that my staking skills in relation to this Crocosmia are poor. I would blame the rain but in this instance the plant had already flopped.
The Four Sisters (plus Esme) are doing well and have enjoyed the rain.
The Edgeworthia is getting to be a good sized shrub now. I always worry about it getting through the winter and if I lost it now I would be devastated.
This part of the Courtyard Garden is now 'hosta and aspidistra corner'. They are all in pots as is the rest of the Courtyard Garden and they are thriving. When I first moved into this house this area was a strange patch of concrete between the outside cludgy and the conservatory. Adding a few plants has transformed it.
I have quite a few plants in pots. This small collection is on top of the heating boiler. It is not in use this time of year and they seem to enjoy living there.
If there is enough space to put a pot, I seem to pop one in.
The pleached hornbeams have had a trim already this year, but are growing fast and look a bit shaggy again. The two clematis that grow up each side of the gap are reaching out to greet each other and I like the effect. If you look very carefully you might see a cat-shaped absence of light that is Trev.
In the veg garden the sweetpeas have flowered really well this year. I am struggling to pick them fast enough.
The sweetcorn and beans (borlotti and french) are doing well. The corn is at TV aerial stage. The courgettes that complete my version of the 'three sisters planting' are happier now it has rained. I am yet to harvest a courgette.
The greenhouse is a happy jumble of aubergines, chillies and coleus plants. I was very worried they would all bake in the recent heatwave, but thankfully they seem to have got through safely.
I end, as is traditional, on the pond. The pond needs the plants thinning, but you can now actually see water. It is not full by any measure, but it is more full than it has been in a long time. The significant rain of the last few days has been much needed. I admit that the last onslaught tested my wish for rain to its limits; but it has been needed so much I have to welcome it.
Thanks as ever to Helen for this meme.
