Today we have some much needed rain after a hot, dry spell.
All the garden was pretty parched, so it’s good to get some water into the butts and onto the ground.
I cut a few roses before the rain, and a couple more during the shower. The summer rain was most refreshing.
I’m pleased with how the roses are growing.
There are white roses over the front door. The plant was were here when we arrived, and it responded well to a good prune. They’re glorious at this time of year.
The roses I planted around the side of the house are doing well. This variety, ‘Mortimer Sackler’ is thriving in quite a shady alley, with lots of competition from brambles and ivy.
Over the last two weeks the new rose border has really started to bloom. The colours in this border are the ‘sunset’ tones I was hoping for. Planting a rose bed with bare root roses is an exercise in imagination and patience and in this case I think it was well worth the wait.
The wildflower meadow is also looking good. My husband thinks there are too many daisies here, but I’m not entirely sure about that. This part was planted over two or three years ago – we began with a small patch of wildflower turf, and then enlarged this section with a seed mix. The ox-eye daisies do dominate the patch, but there’s also lots of red clover, plantain, vetch and yellow rattle – and usually plenty of bees and bugs buzzing about.
The elder is in full flower, and the shady ‘den’ beneath it is a cosy spot when it gets too hot.
And in the pond, the water lily looks lovely. And there are a couple more buds on the way.
This week was our tenth wedding anniversary. We had a little trip to the seaside to celebrate. The fresh seafood at the Crab Shack in Weymouth was delicious…
We both had fun by the sea, but were just as happy to get home to our lovely garden.
Whatever you’re up to this summer, I hope you enjoy the rain as well as the sunshine.
J x
Wow, all is wonderful there! So many gorgeous roses, and the wildflowers knee-high (even if it took three years …). And thte waterlily!! Up here in the sub-Arctic, no roses yet, though the big climber, always the first to arrive, has lots of buds. There are great big Papaveres orientales and alliums, the last and most beautiful of the tulips only just dying down, camassias coming into their own. Our story is the allotment story — turnips, purple and green pak choi (already bolted, uprooted and eaten or given away), pea shoots for salad, chard, rhubarb in vast quantities, tomatoes and other tender veg requiring endless attention, mostly watering. Pics will arrive. M xx
What elder is that, and is that the trunks in the background? Blue elderberry is native here. I cut most to the ground when they get big. I pollard only a single specimen. The trunks look nothing like yours.