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After a stormy June

dorjac

By dorjac

5 comments


What a terrible month that was. One thunderstorm after another. Torrential rain storms. A bit too cool. Footie useless. Unless you are Welsh. Referendum mayhem. Resignations, then chill out on Chilcott…Who? The garden is like a jungle in places. Our little local river got a bit frisky one day and near overtopped its tasteful concrete channel. What next?
We live in really weird times, possibly will get even odder. People should do more gardening instead of tearing strips off each other so much.


One of the drawbacks of torrents of rain is rampant convolvulus. Part of this heap shot up to the top of of an apple tree. I thought it was a clematis which is also having a ball as well, growing vigorously this year, must go to specsavers.


Rampant blackberry canes formed so far this year. Last year, due to more usual low rainfall, none at all whatsover. So I made do with old canes and there is a good crop coming. I can eliminate all the old ones in the autumn. Good job it is thornless.


County rose Essex was chopped back a lot in March and look at it now. Kniphofia Caulescens has also grown to look very intimidating and spiky, its little brother next to it is cowering, in case it attacks, like a triffid.


A closer look at Essex Rose. The bee campaigners say this type of rose is good for bees. There are a lot of bumble bees visiting with furry yellow bottoms but none in picture. I bought Gentle Hermione and planted it in May and it has bloomed well, smells delicious. It seems to have rather weak shoots. Perhaps if anyone grows this David Austin rose they might say otherwise


I think this Day Lily is Corki but not entirely sure, they queue up to bloom so unless there are lots of shoots the display can be very patchy.


Another single petal rose that is less showy than essex but delicately pretty. once established it has grown quite tall.


Three beans self sown from last year have been guided up the metal wire frame, which is extended with canes and they have shinned up very smartly. A few beans will be very welcome from time to time. Truly food for free.


The Angels Fishing Rod is blooming quite well this year. I saw this at Dixter, a lot more showy than this one. Apparently it blooms on a bulb like root and you always leave a bit behind if you move it. Next to it is the Veronicastrum, which is slowly doing its own thing. Very active with all the rain this year. Not watered even once so far. The Asphodel in the middle is in need of TLC=watering and a good feed, It has its own bottle so I must give it some attention or i will lose it.


This corner is a bit of a jumble at this time of the year. I planted the pink geranium there to fill in the gap left after the alliums have gone over. the alliums have fallen in number since they were planted a while back so it looks like it needs a rethink, replant, clear up in autumn.


The two big pots are thriving still after 4 years continuous blooming under the canopy. Amazing how big perlargoniums can get if under cover, fed and watered well enough. There are two fuchsias fighting it out as well.


The pears have gone silly this year too. This one has too much fruit on this branch, which will break it later, so needs sorting out a bit. Always some task to do in a garden. I think I had better stop now. I have done enough for June/July.

More blog posts by dorjac

Previous post: Catch up March/April into May. 2016.

Next post: A scorching dry August



Comments

 

Really enjoyed reading your blog. Your garden looks full of colour. Love the essex rose. I've planted only a couple of containers this year and bearly got a bloom on them. Envious of those on your patio. Jen

7 Jul, 2016

 

What a lot of colour you have.......and growth bit, lots of fruits too.
We are also in Essex and have certainly had a lot more rain than usual which has caused plants to grow so tall(the rain combined, I suppose , with the mild winter.

7 Jul, 2016

 

Lovely blog Dorjac - specially enjoyed a giggle at the first section. Your roses are beautiful. We escaped the thunderstorms here but its unseasonably cold. Very odd weather, as the winter was so mild too..

7 Jul, 2016

 

And we are now in July it carries on. It is raining right now, another day of no gardening for me.

8 Jul, 2016

 

That was really enjoyable. You have such a welcoming, friendly garden with so much to see. I love the alliums with the geraniums, they look so pretty together. Your containers look wonderful.

Let's hope the thunderstorms are over now and that a calmer spell is on its way.

8 Jul, 2016

 

Thanks for all your pleasant responses. Lots of rain has lots of benefits for gardens in Essex, which is so dry. Anytime now it could go dry. I know gardeners in Scotland were sorely tried last year. It must have been so hard to bear. Jeni my old fella says I have far too many pots to water and plant up, too much hard work he says. I like pots. Under the canopy they can really thrive. Wild rose I am pleased with the alliums but if you grow them and leave them in, the couch and bind weed can intrude over time and a tidy up is required about every 4 years. Lots of heavy showers followed by warm sunshine all through June and the garden goes berserk! Bad for Wimbledon but fills my three butts and pleases the plants! Thanks Stera. I tried to keep it light hearted but don't always feel that way. Lovely to look out over the garden at the green and colourful jungly display. I don't like seeing too much soil.

8 Jul, 2016

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