PotsandPlots

The driest July on record here in England tells a story of its own. Many SoSers, have commented on how dry their gardens are, and mine is no exception. Watering has definitely lost its shine, and I find myself idly wishing for summer to be over.

I have plans for the garden. Things I want to move, things I want to replace, but I can’t because the ground is like concrete. I want to redesign my west-facing, shade-free, front garden to better cope with long warm summers. Spaces are opening up at in the back garden which I feel I can make better use of.

I have found a new passion for the creative, designing side of the hobby, but it is thwarted because I’m currently living in a desert.

Yet, I mustn’t wish the time away. Gardening is both fast and slow. I find myself regretting that I didn’t discover a liking for it sooner. Redesigns will take several turns of the season to determine success. It may take a couple of years before I discover whether the changes I made this year have worked. The changes I have planned – their fruition is even further down the line.

I’m in my mid-fifties, and while gardening always brings me closer to my dad, I am acutely aware that if my health takes a similar trajectory, I perhaps have only 15 years to sculpt the patch of land on which I live. 15 summers does not feel like a long time.

Sorry if that’s a little maudlin. I should look on the bright side. It’s a beautiful summer’s day here, as I type, warm but not too hot. There are still a few things in the garden that are photoworthy.

SixOnSaturday is curated by Jim at Garden Ruminations, and you can find the participation guidelines here.

1. I’ve had half a mind, all year, to add more Astrantia to the garden, but as mentioned, there’s no point in buying anything right now because of the heat. My in-laws have a great nursery near them, which has lots of varieties to choose from. I was still going to resist until I discovered they had one called Shaggy. The character from pop culture that I identify with best…

2. Had to do a quick “in wordpress” crop on this photo as I realised at the last minute I had my neighbour’s washing in the shot. This is a Salvia Amistad that I bought last year, and managed to overwinter.

I had four Salvia. I successfully protected 3 of them. 2 were then eaten by slugs, so this was the sole survivor. Luckily, I also managed to propagate 3 cuttings, but they are yet to flower.

3. Down the end of the garden, I have a few hollyhocks that I grew from seed. This is the standout flower right now.

4. A much overlooked workhorse of the garden is this fuschia. It was in the garden when I arrived almost 20 years ago. It gets cut back every spring, grows like mad through the year and flowers deep into autumn and even into winter. I probably would never have planted it myself and I often think I don’t like it. Then I take time to look at it and see it teeming with pollinators and looking so vibrant, for so long and it’s hard not to love.

5. My MVP this year in the garden might be Thunbergia. I bought the yellow and red ones this year, and the orange ones, seeded themselves below where I had a pot last year. I have another orange pyramid from harvested seeds, but it hasn’t flowered yet.

6. Finally more Lantana and a Cordyline, with a purple petunia behind. I think this has been in a six before this year, but it’s still going strong.

That’s it for this week. See you next time, and thanks for looking at my #SixonSaturday