Yep we finally got the heatwave and yes it was very hot, but thankfully not nearly as hot as it got down South. I tried to do any watering in the morning and most of the work before lunch time as I don’t do well in the hot weather. Just now in the garden it is mostly dead-heading and weeding and I have made the decision to get rid of the viola as they are an absolute headache. They are popping up everywhere and spreading like wildfire. It is going to take quite a while before the garden is rid of them. I will need to find some clump forming perennials to replace them rather than ground cover plants. There is/was a pink astrantia in a pot on the patio which I thought would do ok in the stumpery where we pulled out the viola but it had been totally eaten by snails! I will give it ago anyway and see what happens. I have given some hardy geraniums a chop back and left a few others still for the bees. I will chop those back shortly. The heavy, thundery, showers that came along with the heatwave have brought down most of the petals from the philadelphus, some roses and some poppies. Luckily I had asked Amy to put up some canes to tie in the thalictrum just in time so they stayed more or less upright.
Sadly when we moved the potted astrantia Harry found a New Zealand flatworm sitting near it. Now I have to pull all the patio pots out and check underneath them! Huge job.
The bees are loving the yellow thalictrum and the campanula and the foxgloves (when they can get into them). The foxglove below is actually a nice apricot coloured foxglove but the colour didn’t photograph well.
The astilbe are in full flower now, as are the roses and the campanula (which I really aught to trim back). The foxgloves are always a joy but after the heavy rain and wind they are now all at a jaunty angle – this photo was taken just before the wind. There is a mixture of pinks, purples, white and apricot.
A couple of foxgloves however which are growing nearer the back wall are being shredded by the snails! The flowers are ok but the leaves are now only midribs.
The other plant which has succumbed to slugs and/or snails is the Scot’s lovage It did still manage to flower but I am not sure if I will keep it as it never does very well. However some wildlife likes it. The ladybird and some kind of longhorn beetle shown here.
We used to be able to have our dinner on a nice sunny patio, but with the increasing height of the golf course trees it gets very shady by 19:30 which in a heatwave is rather nice but I think I would rather be able to enjoy the sunshine a bit more on the patio in the evening.
In the conservatory the Echinopsis eyriesii (only just found out what it is called) has had 2 flowers this year and the scent is amazing. It is always a shame the flowers only last a day.
And I treated myself to a couple more succulent plants – lets hope I can keep them alive.
At the moment It is a case of keeping an eye on beasties, keeping things watered, and getting rid of unwanted plants that have become unruly.
