Triffids and Tortoise Escapades

 I am so glad we kept newly planted things well-watered. It has paid off. The roots have gone well down into the soil.

The sunflowers which were so weakly and thin, have really taken away. 

A couple of weeks ago....

..... and today.

I have constructed a Heath Robinson type of frame for extra support. And of course the inevitable wire netting against the rabbits. The rain has done wonders.

Our view for teabreaks ....

 .....and towards the tortoises.

The honeysuckle is glorious this year.

Talking of tortoises, today a dad and his son pointed out the littlest tortoise making a break for it .... out of the run (?) and trundling off behind the cob shed.

We rescued him and returned him to the fold. 

In the tortoise run the yucca has produced an amazing triffid-like spike of flowers. It is quite majestic. It grew very quickly. 

The crops and harvesting are starting in earnest.

Enough raspberries for the first jam making.

And courgettes coming out of our ears.

 Last year the courgette harvest was non-existent. This year the growth is already tumbling over the edges of the raised bed.

This fire pit will be turned into a table for the summer when we have measured up pallet wood for the top. We have surrounded it with newly planted troughs of sedums.
 

And today Steve hung an old piece of pallet fence for buckets of different sedums. I saw the idea on Gardeners World last week.

It is a hot spot they will love.

There was a lot of activity in the pond. You need to approach quietly and be prepared to sit still to see what unfolds.

 

Fairy Day coming up soon so lots to think about.

 

 

Poppies Galore

 The garden is bursting with poppies. They are popping up all over the place. Literally.

Here are the best ones over the last couple of days.

Most of these have seeded themselves and we just let it happen. It is exciting to see what comes up.

Our most pressing concern is keeping everything well watered. It has been incredibly hot. Our visits are usually timed for early morning. And it is beautiful .... the cuckoo and frogs calling, the sun shining and just a few degrees cooler.

The foxgloves are towering above everything.

 

The corncockle has taken over the compost area. I can`t bear to pull it up. But it does make trips to tip, difficult.

Anne found this broad bodied chaser today. It seems to be kind of mummified.

At home the sweetpeas are coming thick and fast. The perfume is divine. At the garden they have just started to flower.

 

 

 

The Witch goes Walkabout

I cannot believe that I wrote no entries in May. We were soooo busy clearing and planting and trying to catch up with the very late start in both gardens.

But although no-where near completion, the planting up is well under way. Here we are in June and at least 40 trays of bedding still to go. Some of those plants are being held back to fill in gaps in the borders later.

We had a bit of a disaster with the dahlia tubers in the polytunnel. First of all a lot were chewed by mice, secondly the cold snap didn`t help and finally they completely dried up. I tried soaking them but the awful smell alerted me to the fact that they were rotten.

Today they went onto the compost heap!!

Luckily we left some in the ground, well covered by carpet and I have taken quite a lot of cuttings from my home ones. I`ve also tried growing some from seed. So we are not short.

Today our main job was to get peppers, aubergines and a few extra tomatoes in the polytunnel.

Here are the ones we planted some time ago. 

The peppers were a bit small, though strong enough. I decided to protect them with plastic bottles with both ends cut out. Unfortunately I have just remembered that I didn`t put down slug pellets.

I also had a large tray of annuals to get in .... sweetpeas, mirabilis, cosmos, cornflowers.

There were lots of campers around enjoying the garden and the tortoises.

Anne and I discussed the witch scarecrow and Steve took out the post so she can sit.

Later in the day she moved to her hovel on the fairy trail.

Outside the polytunnel the cerinthe has found its own spot. Anyone who wants to grow this take note .... well rotted chipped bark. It is easy to collect the huge seeds.
 

Alongside the californian poppies I sowed are coming up and so far, not eaten.

Elsewhere around the garden.....

Lots of watering needed and no rain in the forecast!!