June finds us three months into lockdown and I'd hoped things were starting to ease. I have had a trip out to a nursery and I 'd hoped to be resuming garden visiting soon. The lockdown of Leicester has paused this as where I live is within the restrictions boundary. It is quite dis-spiriting to feel like we are going backwards and also a serious hit for the local economy; but staying safe is what matters most and if this makes the city safer and all of us who live here then it just has to be. Meanwhile the garden carries on regardless and has had a month of scorching hot sun, windy and rainy days.
The Knot Garden is in need of a trim and is growing well. The cypress trees are getting quite tall but are still slender and so not outgrowing the area yet. I am keeping an eye on this.
On the other hand, the lilac by the front window is huge and dominating the space. I always prune it back in the summer and it is clearly in need of control....... or removal....... though if I do remove it I will have to plant another somewhere else in the garden as the smell of lilac is one of my favourite garden scents.
As I walk around to the back garden I pass the succulents. They have enjoyed the sun very much.
There seem to be more pots by the back door every time I look. This previously dull space is now much nice.
There are more by the oil tank too, including the mini-pond which is a total joy. I did not expect it to be so successful as it really is small, and yet it works well.
The plants are very healthy and there are 'things' squiggling about in the water. These might be mosquito larvae....
Further around to the back garden and even more pots and a twirl of hose pipes for when I need to water if the rain butts are empty.
Into the back garden itself and the wind has been blowing the petals off the Rosa Hyde Hall hedge. There are so many flowers on this hedge that it still looks good.
The crocosmia lucifer are starting to flower. I repeat them along both sides of the Long Shoot, in the Pond Border and the Coal Bunker Border. They add a great splash of colour in the summer garden.
and Rosa Mme Alfred Carriere is romping away on the Whitby Arch. I cut her down hard every year and she bounces back happily. She has to be one of the best roses.
The Shasta daisies are flowering in the Conservatory Border. This border knits together well I think with a mixture of perennials and self-seeders.
The Courtyard Garden, which is also completely in pots, is very green this time of year.
With the pelagonium stand enjoying where the sun lands.
The Dombeya rotunifolia is budding up.
and the Brugmansia is looking its best ever. I cut it back hard last year so that I could fit it in the conservatory over winter and it has grown back happy. You can also see the rain chain from the guttering above that leads into my dipping pool. I set this up earlier this year and it has made watering the Courtyard garden much easier and I like how it looks.
The Prairie Borders are now starting to look good again. They are very much a late summer feature but as they last until the following Spring when I cut them down they are forgiven a few off-weeks.
You can see the red of the callistemon by the pond. This was planted many years ago when the pond was nearly installed. This year it is doing particularly well, I think the mild winter suited it. I realised that I have three planted in the garden. I was also under the impression that one of them was yellow but all of them flower red. I puzzled why I had expected it to be yellow but then I realised that they are Callistemon citrinus - and I had thought citron yellow...... (yes I'm an idiot, shush).
This wild mallow has self-seeded into the Woodland Border. It is very welcome so I have let it be.
and the bees are happily bumbling around the garden and bringing me great happiness. The queen has been out of the hive a couple of times, laying her eggs around the garden. This means that the hive is already in its later days and by September it will probably be empty. I will be sorry when it is over but I will be buying more bees for next year as I have enjoyed watching them so much.
I planted a Kiftsgate Rose some years ago to form a large prickly barrier. I am hoping you can see from this photo that it is indeed large (huge) as I knew it would grow to be. It is always full of bees this time of year. I am going to have to take the chainsaw to it when it is finished flowering to try and control it a bit.
Trev guards the entrance to the Accidental Shrubbery. I saw guard, what I mean is lolls around looking soppy.
This shrubbery is developing well, it has a few hydrangeas in it now and they are just about to burst into flower.
The greenhouse is still fairly full. I need to get more planted out and there are various cuttings hopefully taking in there.
I end, of course, with the pond which is still looking quite clear and quite full. I have been anxiously watching the level as I was not sure if it had a leak. I am still not sure if I am honest and I am going to have to inspect the lining as it seems to have a reached a level. If there is a leak, it must be around where it currently levels (der...)
Thanks as ever to Helen for hosting this meme.
