An oriental poppy in the Little Garden earlier this summer
You might think that the writer of this blog has been lazing around, doing not much of anything for the last couple of months. Au contraire. I have been desperately trying to catch up on weeding, garden work and general household chores that have fallen by the wayside since I went back to work full-time. Let me tell you, it ain’t easy.
No cabbages this year, so I’m actually enjoying the Lg Cabbage White butterfly on the Buddleja
By all rights I should have completely lost heart by now but I have decided not to give up. I worked too hard on the garden to let it all go back to rough field. There are pockets of loveliness and little crops of veg and fruit that are really keeping my spirits up. You can see some of the nice plants here and I’ve been harvesting loads of tomatoes and courgettes (surprisingly…) and the French beans are just kicking in. I’m just between harvesting my earlier blackcurrants (‘Ben Sarek’) and the later variety (‘Ben Connon’). The blackbirds have eaten all the redcurrants. I’m not too bothered because the freezer is full up anyway and I’m never quite sure what to do with pounds and pounds of redcurrants. So all is not lost.
A bit of loveliness that keeps me weeding, Helenium ‘Moorheim Beauty’
The Big Garden has also been a bit neglected by me due to my severe lack of time. I have just done a serious weeding and pruning session of the rose beds but there is a fair bit more to do including edging the rose beds and the big beds, deadheading the standard roses (tedious and never-ending). I also need to cut back the Alchemilla and Geranium that would, without a doubt, take over the entire big perennial bed given half the chance. I need to get at the Alchemilla before it seeds everywhere. I have enough weeds to contend with, never mind having to pull out Lady’s Mantle seedlings (which become frightfully well-rooted little buggers given a month or so of growth).
View of the front of the Big Garden taken from the Big Perennial Border
Speaking of self-seeding, my next blog will be about lovely little plants self-seeding around the garden. You might just be surprised by the things I find around the place that I never planted… Until then, keep on weeding!
Lots of bees at the Little Garden, here’s a pair of white-tailed bumble bees on Globe Thistle
Good to see you back! Love that poppy-and the Globe Thistle. Is that called an Allium too? Congrats on the other full time job. Yes, your garden definitely is one too!
The garden is definitely a full-time job, but I feel a lot better after doing 8 hours outside than I do after 8 hours stuck inside! The globe thistle is Echinops. I have some elephant garlic that has gone to flower (speaking of Alliums and the like); I must take a photo of it.
I spent all day today cutting back and taking out Lady’s Mantle and perennial Geraniums!
Oh Bridget, I’m glad I’m not the only one! In fact, I’m on my way out the door to the Big Garden to hack back Johnson’s blue and catch the Alchemilla before it seeds there. Ive just come online early before going out because I had to fix a mistake on this most recent post. I had written Rudbeckia instead of Helenium ‘Moorheim Beauty’ and I’m delighted no one called me on it…