Dorset Garden Diary - Can't Believe It's Nearly September

Hi everyone,

Hard to believe we're on the road to autumn...where did the summer go? Over the past couple of weeks it's been warm but not so humid and we've had a couple of good downpours to start replenishing the garden after the drought. It's also been quite windy over the past few days.

The sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds have disappeared from the garden leaving just the magpies, pigeons and doves. Him indoors discovered something has been burrowing under the back fence again, probably a fox as the gap was too small for a badger. The fish have been surfacing more frequently and we've been feeding them 3-4 times a day. The other day he counted between 30-40!

We've been tidying up the garden - I wish the plants and veg grew as quickly as the weeds - and him indoors pulled out some of the oxygenating weed from the pond that was taking over. The cauldron pond isn't doing too well so it will have to have a makeover in the autumn.

I came across this geranium that I saved last year...it is happy and rewarding me well

The radishes appear to have got out of hand, impressive but inedible unfortunately

And...drum roll...there are three lemons growing. They probably won't develop into full blown fruit but hey, still impressive

Yesterday I picked French and runner beans, a pepper and plums

The veg beds are getting a bit sparse now but the second sowing of beetroot is coming on and the perpetual spinach is getting it's second wind

and the fennel and kale are coming along. The carrots are still a bit hit and miss though

In the greenhouse the padron and razzmatazz chillies are turning a lovely shade of fiery red

and the indoor and outdoor cucumbers are still producing

The pond garden is looking colourful with the rudbeckia

and the grasses in the cottage garden never fail to delight

That's it for this week. The forecast for the coming week is, and I quote, 'summer is returning'. Hope so.

Regards,

DD

Follow me on Twitter @daisydigga



Dorset Garden Diary - Now We're Being Spoilt - More Rain!

Hi everyone,

The temperature has dipped, the humidity has gone and it's raining again. Welcome back to our traditional English summer.

The drought has brought failures and successes. The failures:

Maris Piper potatoes from six plants. Grew them in the ground rather than bags, thought I'd watered them enough but obviously not.

Now at first glance this looks like a success after the first batch withered on ripening, but actually they are a failure because each one is rotten inside

and I don't hold out much hope for the rest of them.

The courgettes are putting on a brave face and trying to score brownie points but I've only had one decent courgette from two plants all summer...so far!

The carrots are sporadic - these were growing next to each other.

but this one put a smile on my face!

Failure into success when the rains came

flowers appearing in the cottage garden

and the pond garden.

Successes:

indoor cucumbers

and outdoor cucumbers surprisingly.

peppers

razzmatazz chillies

padron peppers which I thought were peppers but found out they are actually chillies when I put them in my salad!

fennel (left) and dill (right) seeds sown at the beginning of the month.

The eucalyptus has rallied after nearly dying at the beginning of July.

New plants for the garden are:

Rhodohypoxis - rose lily grass

Hebe high voltage (foreground) and Hakonechloa aureola (background)

Blechnum volcano (dwarf Brazilian tree fern) (foreground), coronilla citrina (back) and the piece de resistance - him indoors favourite plant ever...drum roll...strelitzia bird of paradise.

And another of him indoors' favourites has come into flower - Ena Harkness rose

Dotted around the garden we have rock solar lights

they are placed under trees and in the flower beds. Every morning at least a couple of them have been toppled over by mysterious activities in the night!

That's it for this week, the weather looks fairly settled for the week albeit a bit breezy at times.

Regards,

DD

Follow me on Twitter @daisydigga

Dorset Garden Diary - RAIN!!!!

Hi everyone,

Yes, that's right...RAIN! Finally...after two months of tropical temperatures and near drought conditions. The last couple of weeks have been particularly hot with humidity as high as 85%.

So that's one job checked off the list for a couple of days.

Yet the garden has coped very well considering I haven't watered the top flower beds - there was no point, the clay was rock hard and the water would have run off.  Casualties include the grass which is brown but hopefully not for long now; the sweet peas withered despite being watered; the plums have been affected (as they ripen they shrivel up) which is a shame because it's a bumper crop this year

I've tried ripening them indoors but they are inedible, there's no moisture in them

The potatoes have been dismal apart from the Charlottes which taste delicious but only a small crop. The maris pipers are a write off I think, I'll leave them for another week or so

and although I earthed them up well, there have been small potatoes forming on the stems above ground

I 've watered the veg beds and greenhouse regularly - the tomatoes inside

 and outside

we have harvested plenty so far. I may choose a different variety next year as although these are tasty and abundant they are quite small.

The cucumbers outside - to be honest I'm surprised we've had any cucumbers at all from these

and in the greenhouse

I've picked about half a dozen already which is double last year's harvest!

peppers

padron peppers

and razzmatazz chillies (my favourite)

the icicle radishes have grown quickly and are hot and peppery - one at a time is more than enough

and the French beans and beetroot are doing well

And on to the flowers thriving in the heat - verbena bonariensis

the grasses in the cottage garden

echinacea - a beauty

rudbeckia - brightens up the border

there is a bloom on the physallis (Chinese lantern) I've grown from seed

and a flower on the gardenia with more buds about to open

There is a glut of blackberries but within hours of picking some of them turned mouldy in the hunidity. I checked some of the pots that didn't appear to have anything growing and to my surprise one of the avocado stones has rooted so I've covered it back up and fingers crossed.

The fish have been lively over the past couple of weeks and eating well. I topped up the pond the other day with the hose on spray and some of the fish surfaced and were frolicking in the falling water. The temperature in the pond at the time was 20C 68F. And this bee was taking a rest in the heat

I prepared some sugary syrup in case it was exhausted but it was fine and flew off.

The weather for the coming week is possibly more showers (yes please) then turning hot again towards next weekend. It will be interesting to see what affect today's rain has. Catch up next week.

Regards,

DD

Follow me on Twitter @daisydigga