The garden has been such a good place to be this week. It's that time of year when a quick trip outside to the bin turns into an hour or two of tidying, trimming and weeding.
The first of the strawberries are ripe. Last year the plants were terrible, sad little stumps doing almost nothing. At the end of the season they rallied a bit and put on a small amount of growth. This year they've taken off and it looks like there will be a good crop. I assume they just needed to settle in. Patience.
I've started tying in the tomatoes. As usual Sungold are the furthest ahead with little fruits already forming. Orkado is not far behind though, it's rapidly becoming my favourite for reliability. There were dozens of sideshoots to be pinched out and one or two plants had been snapped off the by the cricketers or the golfer. As usual everyone is blaming everyone else. Anyway, it wasn't me.
Fruit is swelling nicely and the raspberries are permanently covered in bees. They really are one of the best things for attracting pollinators to the kitchen garden. I visited Jekka's Herbs yesterday and learnt a few new things. I'll write about it more another day, but one of her tips was to plant borage at each end of the row of runner beans. Apparently that brings the bees from far and wide.
Chives are another thing that the bees love. This clump is just a supermarket pot of them planted in a tucked away corner and left to their own devices. They never fail to look beautiful every single year, and the flowers are so pretty pulled apart and sprinkled over salads. I leave most of them for the bees though.
The carrots have been resown after the first batch disappeared without trace. It seems to me that a decent slug or snail can happily work his way through a row or two of seedlings over the course of a night.
After a dry spell the heavens opened yesterday (at school pick-up time of course). There were several monsoon style deluges. Safe to say everything has been thoroughly watered. No amount of watering seems to equal a good natural downpour does it? Today everything looks gloriously green.
I hope your gardens or patios or window boxes are giving you pleasure too. And that you find a bit of time this weekend to go out and enjoy them. Or if you don't have a garden of your own, which I didn't for a very long time, that you can find a garden or a park to visit. This really is the very best time of year out there.
I grow quite a lot in pots and whilst there are not huge amounts of anything the little we do grow tastes so much better. There is nothing more relaxing than a stroll around the garden. You certainly are a lot further ahead than mine.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is doing so well already. I loved seeing all the different things you're growing this year. I didn't know that about raspberries; I wonder if they would thrive where I live, and if so, whether I can grow them in a container. My cherry tomatoes (Sweet 100) are at about the same stage yours are. I'm so hoping for a lot of them this year. Often, we get a small handful and that's it for a whole summer of watering and care, which is so disappointing. I want bushels of them, more than I know what to do with. :)
ReplyDeleteWe're off to a local ngs garden tomorrow and I can't wait. Cakes and plants, what's not to like? :-). Borage is a winner here for bees and I do agree about chives. Your patch is looking lovely. Hope the new carrots make it through un-slugged:-). Ps I did love yesterday's conversation about headless bears. Do hope the youngest CJ wasn't upset though xx
ReplyDeleteIt's all looking and sounding good. Happy gardening. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your stories when you're garden is on, you obviously bloom right along with the flowers and veggies! There's nothing as dependable as chives, is there? Enjoy your garden.. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteI have some surprise borage poking up around my runner beans. What luck! It is absolutely bucketing down here the garden is very thankful for it xx
ReplyDeleteWe are having a big rain right this minute, I am loving it because I am tucked inside. Your garden looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
We had our first strawberries too. This year the parsnip seedlings have fared the worst in slug wars!
ReplyDeleteI'm so impressed with your tomatoes, mine are only just flowering. Good year here for strawberries as well :) B x
ReplyDeleteA very fruitful post - your strawberries look delicious! I grow borage every year because it's beautiful and love its blue (edible) flowers. Everything in your garden looks very healthy indeed. We've had several downpours since yesterday and they really do the garden good.
ReplyDeleteCathy x
Lovely photos CJ, it is a wonderful time of year in the garden, I love it. We really need rain now, it keeps getting forecast then never happens. I'm not complaining about the sun and heat we've had, it's been glorious, rain at night would be perfect :)
ReplyDeleteIt all looks so full of promise. There's a selection of herbs and a tomato in a couple of pots here but they don't appear to have budged one jot since I planted them. If anything, they're smaller. No bee visitors yet, either, but the snails are flourishing.
ReplyDeleteHey CJ,
ReplyDeleteI've been absent from your space, and so have had a lovely hour reading all your lovely posts. I think you and me have the same attitude to our gardens and plots. I love the sowing of seed and all the preparation. I love watching everything grow and develop. But I'm also a realist. Children and gardens are made for each other, and it has taught me not to be so precious about the odd snapped plant or flower. It has also taught me patience and how to slow down. I jus wish that I could apply the same philosophy to the indoors and well as the outdoors.
I have noted down the tip about borage. I'd love to visit Jekka's herb garden one day. I would imagine it a fascinating place to spend a few hours. We had rain overnight here. As you say, it beats watering the garden yourself, and is far more effective. Nature harmonises beautifully.
Olly's strawberries were decimated last year, so I grew off runners and we put them in four large pots. The result has been three bountiful pickings already. And only one snail has been found lurking so far. I think it's the way to go.
Hope that your having a lovely weekend.
Leanne xx
It's all looking very good, especially those strawberries. Ours are still green but hopefully a few days of sunshine will see them turn red too.
ReplyDeleteIt's all looking very good, especially those strawberries. Ours are still green but hopefully a few days of sunshine will see them turn red too.
ReplyDeleteWho knew bees like chives? Not me. That's what I like about your blog. I learn things. Well, that and the way you capture such great images.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
Everything seems so much more advanced in your garden than my on, and yet we are only in the Midlands. Our strawberries too look much better this year compared to last year. Your tomatoes are looking good!
ReplyDeleteCaz xx
Everything in your garden really is doing so well isn't it! Lots of great things to come. I hope that the slugs and snails stay away from your seedlings!
ReplyDeleteI might have to nick that plant label idea, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteAnd white peonies - so lovely. I was hanging around bunches of them at the (admittedly rather posh) supermarket up in the Lakes on Sunday, but couldn't justify £15 for a bunch. So I opted for good old Sweet Williams instead.
It is a gorgeous time of year (even with the downpours). Your strawberries look delicious, by the way!
S x
Your strawberry and tomatoes are ahead of ours. I have admired your plant labels before, unfortunately it wouldn't work here, Tavi would pull them up! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteThe strawberries look super-juicy. Ours are only at the flowering stage. I hope you are winning the battle over the slugs! xx
ReplyDelete