Summer garden update

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