So here we are in midsummer, the halfway
point of the year passed, and the garden growing more-and-more into its
own. I’ve spent a lot of time recently
planning out a grander, more attractive and productive level for growing fruit
and vegetables, much of which will not come good until next year – such is the
gardener’s need to plan ahead. This has
involved the removal of concrete, cement, and ugly old paving slabs, the
digging over of the ground underneath, removing along the way huge stones and
other rubble, all of which is now mounted up at the very back of the plot (and,
I hope, a perfect home for insects.) In
their place I have planted two young blackberry canes, and a couple of
blackcurrant plants – none of which will bear fruit this year, but will hopefully
give a small crop in a year’s time. I’ve
dabbled for the first time in soft fruits this year, and have so far found it
an enjoyable experience. My summer
raspberry canes, currently in a pot (but hopefully, by next year, in the
ground) have fruited admirably – the key, I have read, is to continuously pick
in order to prolong the season, so the early pickings are freezer-bound until I
can make up a decent size crop. That
said, one-or-two haven’t made it to the house, and I can testify, they are juicy,
sweet and delicious!
 |
| Home grown raspberries |
I’ve also started off two blueberry bushes
this summer, again without expectation for this year. One of the bushes – a cultivar Bluecrop – has produced a small handful
of berries, so I’m trying to bring these on for ripening – anything, this year,
is a bonus. Blueberries are a fussy
plant, requiring acidic soil and rainwater to grow well. Because of this, they’re both living in pots
of ericaceous compost, whilst I make daily trips to the water butt with the can. Rainwater has been in relatively shot supply
so far this summer, so I’m hoping I can just bring them through to the autumn
unscathed.
 |
| Home grown blueberries |
Flowers and ornamental plants is an area where
I’m learning a lot this year – Lizzie has much better knowledge than I do – but both of us, this summer, have fallen in love with sweet
peas. Grown from seeds on the windowsill
back in the cold months, these little troopers have gone from strength-to-strength,
and with a bit of advice from gardening books and parents, we’ve brought them
up their canes and into full, prolific, flower.
The key, like with raspberries, is to keep picking in order to encourage
more, and their blooming is so constant, that we currently have a vase of sweet
peas in almost every room in the house.
 |
| Sweet peas |
There are some plants that are just so
enjoyable to grow in the course of the season, and this year, it has been the
giant sunflowers. Again grown from seed,
I have watched these amazing stems grow up to my knees, then my chest, then my
head, and now they stand proudly above me, surveying the garden far below, visible from our front drive. The
tallest one is around eight-foot, and has been in bloom for at least two
weeks. I love sunflowers – they’re
unfussy, simple, yet stunning and impressive to look at. I’ll definitely look at growing more next
year, and am also very interested in some of the dwarf varieties, like those
seen at that lovely kitchen garden in the Hampton Court Flower Show.
 |
| Sunflowers |
On our recent visit to RHS Rosemoor, Lizzie
spied a rose called English Miss, to which
she took a particular liking. She didn’t
know it at the time, but Mum ordered this rose for her as a birthday present,
and a few weeks ago, we planted it out in one of the garden’s many gaps, in the
hope that it would thrive. Just a few
weeks on, and the plant is covered in buds, with an early bloom really
offsetting its delicate pale pink against the dark green foliage. With a little bit of luck and attention,
it’ll grow to fill the space, and reward us with lovely scented flowers for
years to come.
 |
| Lizzie's new rose, English Miss |
This first summer in the garden has been a
delight, and also a challenge. Many
plants have cropped up that we can’t identify, and we’ve also had ups-and-downs
with a few of our own that we’ve added – our lupin, for example, was utterly
decimated by slugs and snails within a few short weeks of planting. One plant that has quietly got on with it (so
quietly, in fact, that until it bloomed, we thought it was dying) is our
passion flower. Now, this unique plant
has intrigued me for years – it simply screams tropical, and getting one to grow in our climate feels like
something of a horticultural victory. In
truth, however, we’ve planted, fed and watered, and allowed it to do its thing
whilst loosely training it up some old trellis.
We’re now seeing a succession of beautiful flowers, none of which last
more than a day or two, but which catch the eye every time, and are a real
delight.
 |
| Passion flower |
Our other main garden project for the year,
aside from horticulture, has been to renovate the summerhouse. This old wooden shack was not in a great way
when we moved in – bits were rotten, the roof was leaking, old electrical wires
had been laughably trailed up from the house by way of a hose pipe… Over the last couple of months, we’ve knocked
it into shape, laying new roofing felt, filling gaps left by rot, and generally
making it fit for habitation once again.
The priming and painting of the structure took hours of tedious
after-work effort, but we’ve finally finished, and are now enjoying the
beach-themed hut as much as possible (in fact, it’s where I’m writing this blog
today.) With a bit of maintenance, we’re
looking forward to using this space for years to come, and I for one can’t
wait to kick back with a cool beer in this shady little corner of the garden –
where else could I possibly want to be?
 |
| Our summerhouse last autumn |
 |
| Our summerhouse this summer |
