Mornings are much cooler and the days are reaching nice, warm temperatures. These I can live with, I've had enough of hot, muggy, grey days. Last week we had a corker, it was so heavy and horrible, I just don't know how people put up with it for long periods of time… as the day progressed I gradually felt more light-headed and sick. Finally 4pm came and I virtually ran out of the office, OH was meeting me and we went for a meal, the restaurant was air conditioned and almost immediately I felt much better.
I have some more catching up to do; I've been sparse on posts this month and haven't really even mentioned any of the veggies I've grown.
The tomatoes have begun ripening a few weeks ago, I cannot remember their type but they were supposed to be an early variety… I wouldn't really call this early! Anyway, I also have some gardener's delight and a cherry which was given to me by a colleague, they are by the back door of the house and are also now ripening. I want to try a Heritage variety next year, does anyone have any suggestions?
Our Rosarie de l'hay has had a second flush of flowers, I am so very pleased as the perfume… it's to die for. If I could effectively collect it in a bottle to smell all year, I would.
This summer I have seen lots of these around:
I have some more catching up to do; I've been sparse on posts this month and haven't really even mentioned any of the veggies I've grown.
The tomatoes have begun ripening a few weeks ago, I cannot remember their type but they were supposed to be an early variety… I wouldn't really call this early! Anyway, I also have some gardener's delight and a cherry which was given to me by a colleague, they are by the back door of the house and are also now ripening. I want to try a Heritage variety next year, does anyone have any suggestions?
Our Rosarie de l'hay has had a second flush of flowers, I am so very pleased as the perfume… it's to die for. If I could effectively collect it in a bottle to smell all year, I would.
This summer I have seen lots of these around:
We’ve also had this visiting, I've never seen quite such a huge Hoverfly before…
The Gatekeeper had its eye on me…
But soon went back to eating
Meanwhile another can be seen on the Coneflower
Crocosmia takes over at this time of year
And I've been using it in vase arrangements… Photos will be posted another day.
A (Carder??) Bee, very fluffy it is, too!
One of my Rudbeckia has opened double, not complaining though…
A tiny moth I know I've seen before, and know they do not have a common name, only a long latin name so I won't waste my time attempting to find it again…
Cherry or Gardener's Delight by the kitchen door… Others on the plant are turning orange.
Does anyone know what this Cotoneaster is?? It has the strangest growing habit I've ever seen and I cannot say I'm a fan of this 'messy' look. It was here when we moved so I have no idea what the previous owners planted.
I think I'm going to have to get rid, it clearly wants to grow much too large for the space they gave… And to think they'd originally also planted Portugal Laurel right next to it, madness.
The 'early' Tomatoes… I *may* have already eaten a few... For testing purposes, clearly.
9 comments:
Hi Liz, how delightful to see your visitors in these scrumptious photos! A very pleasant way to begin the morning, thanks! Your tomatoes and crocs are superb. Glad to hear the weather is more to your liking now. Across the pond, we understand the meteorological terminology (what a mouthful!) of *cannot breathe*. Cooler here as well. :-)
Frances
Your tomatoes look so healthy. Mine seem to have all contracted a disease this year, and they're also being attacked by the slugs for the first time. Sigh, I thought they'd leave at least the tomatoes alone. Love your other pictures, too.
Hi Liz....cannot believe your crocrosmia are just coming into bloom. Mine finished long ago. I really like them, especially mixed with yellow flowers.
Tomatoes look good. I eat them like sweets if they are warm and ripe. I love the smell of them to, always reminds me of staying with my grand-parents in the summer holidays.....
I have had lots of ladybirds as well. Must be a good year for them.
Butterflies have disappeared, due to torrential rain. It has chucked it down tonight........
Humid weather affects me in much the same way. I think it is a woman thing, don't you?
What wonderful photos! I am always amazed at how often people plant things with no idea of their growth habits. I guess they think they will stay forever as they bought them! Of course, I have planted some things that were supposed to grow to two feet and they ended up triple that! So we never know for sure.
We will have to live with the heat and humidity for a while yet, but sometimes now we get a cool breeze with promise that milder temps will come later.
Hi Frances,
Thanks for stopping by, I’m glad you liked my post :)
Today we’ve been hit with rain, I guess I ought to be glad it’s only just come as there have been weather warnings for the past few days now – almost thought for a moment then, we’d get away with it!
It is invariably awful weather for every ‘bank holiday’ here in the UK, and as we’re coming up to one this weekend of course the weather has to be bad. (A bank holiday is a public holiday)
Hi Barbara,
I do not wish to jinx myself regarding the Tomatoes, because I am pretty certain it will not be long before my luck runs out!!! I haven’t yet had a problem with them, although this is only my second year. I’ve always grown them outside – don’t have a greenhouse – so perhaps it’s a ventilation issue, greenhouses I would imagine can be a field day for spores with little to no breeze??
We had problems with the slugs/snails eating the peas which are also growing up the same canes as the Tomatoes, but I don’t think they touched the Toms… Sometimes they confuse me, one year they will attack a plant and the next not, you just never quite know!
Hi Cheryl,
My Crocosmia have actually been flowering for the past month… I don’t know if that’s a long time? I mentioned previously that it was odd mine were flowering later than my neighbours. Hers were in full bloom when mine were budding yet hers are right under her front window in full shade – north east facing houses. Yet mine in the back garden are in full sun, and those in the front garden are down the side so do get a good few hours of sun a day… Strange.
Your tomatoes sound to have the same fate as mine, that’s exactly what I did – ate them as I did the rounds in the garden… I am determined to save some though and eat them with a little feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. Nom nom nom.
Indeed, the Ladybirds do seem to have done well, I’m not used to seeing quite so many. In the last house I lived in there was a large Solanum and that seemed to be crawling with them too, yet I’d never see any aphids on it and couldn’t help but wonder what they were eating… these thankfully are scoffing the aphids off the Gaura (never seen them on Gaura before??!!!), Yarrow and Sea Holly. The Yarrow especially is suffering, and I am very grateful for the Hoverflies and Ladybirds.
The air pressure may be a woman thing, although I don’t think anyone else in the office seemed to be suffering as I was… perhaps they also had headaches, but I just wanted to curl up somewhere.
Hi Debs,
I’d love to have been in their minds when they chose a Portugal Laurel though… Of all the shrubs to pick up… Why… Oh my. Perhaps they planned on chopping it heavily every year? I truly cannot fathom why. I imagine it was cheap and they bought it, not caring to check how it grows.
I hope you get some respite from the heat soon, dry heat I can cope with… Humidity, I cannot. As much as I would love to go to somewhere like the Seychelles, I know I could not manage.
Gardeners Delight are hard to beat; common or not - I love them. Happy to stand by a plant in the sun and eat my way through a whole crop.
We've had a sudden burst of ladybirds and hoverflies here too in the last few days. I hope their late appearance will deal with next year's greenfly.
Esther
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