Thank goodness, we have now had some rain and the garden is looking a lot better for it. After such a long hot, dry spell with temperatures much higher than they should have been, the plants and I are much happier. The ground was rock hard so no weeding could be done, I have no excuse now! Wandering around yesterday, taking photos for today, I was impressed at how well the plants had coped without any rain, it must be my heavy clay soil! I’ll start again with my Yucca which is the star of the garden at the moment, but this one is on the other side of the steps onto the lawn at the side. This yucca has stayed as one plant, unlike the other which has split into 3.
My yucca glows with the sun behind it, you certainly can’t miss it when you come out of the back door.
Hardy Fuchsia Delta Sarah is well into her stride now, she keeps on flinging out long arms which I have to prune back so that I can get along the path, I had no idea that she was such a big girl!
Another hardy fuchsia is Whiteknight’s Blush which is much daintier and never a problem!
Perovskia is spreading too much and must be moved, but I will have to wait until it has finished flowering.
The perfume from the honeysuckle on the arbour in the back garden, greets me each morning when I come to water the pots in the early in the day.
This is my favourite of the tender fuchsias that I have in pots in the gravel garden in the back.
Also climbing over the arbour in the back is a Golden Hop. I think thismust bes a male plant as the flowers don’t form the lovely hops that I was hoping for.
Day lilies are coming to an end now, they have been wonderful for the whole of July. Heat they say, what heat!
Crocosmias masonorum has lovely large flowers and is a welcome addition to the July garden.
Crocosmia Lucifer is coming to an end, I must move some of these corms to the front border as they are spreading too far by the pond.
Rosa Charlotte has also shrugged off the heat and lack of rain and just continued flowering, a beautiful rose.
Rosa The Dark Lady is the same, she has just carried on flowering, ignoring what was going on around her and she is still covered with more buds.
The blue lacacap hydrangea next to her is also covered with flowers but they are half the size that they normally are, due no doubt to the lack of rain and lack of attention from the gardener!
Geranium Rozanne is sprawling and flopping through the plants around her, the wild crocosmia or montbretia contrasts nicely.
Other hydrangeas have coped very well without any rain or watering, they flopped a bit this last week but soon perked up when the rain came.
This hydrangea by the front door also has the added problem that it is in the rain shadow of the house, however it seems to like being in deep shade all day until the evening.
Japanese anemones mean autumn to me, I’m not ready for autumn yet, to me it is still summer!
Agapanthus are flowering through the driveway border, there are blue……
…….and white ones.
Alongside is a red hot poker, Kniphofia, which isn’t red, but yellow. Must get a couple more to join it and brighten up the border a bit more.
Butterflies are busy fluttering around the garden and enjoying all sorts of flowers planted especially for them. This is a Comma butterfly on the buddlia
named because of the small white mark on the underside of the wing which is just like a comma.
Hope you enjoyed your wander through the garden with me. I think that it is amazing that plants can carry on without any fussing when the weather is far more extreme than usual. I have already done one session of weeding and the weeds are sliding out beautifully from the softened soil, it has been a real pleasure……..must go and do some more!
I enjoyed your photos this morning Pauline, especially the fuchsias, hydrangeas and agapanthus, nice reminders of some of plants I cannot grow here. I love Crocosmia Lucifer and that does very well here thankfully!
So glad you liked them Denise, they are all making the garden nice and colourful at the moment. Crocosmia Lucifer is a bit of a thug here, he will need taming!
Oh pleased to hear that you’ve had some rain Pauline. I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks of autumn when it comes to Japanese anemones. Lovely that they are I was shocked to see some in flower last week in a friend’s garden. Your golden hop flowers look nothing like mine which are very hoppy or certainly were last summer. Not a sign of a flower yet this year. I wasn’t aware that there were male and female plants. Still your flower is most attractive.
Much needed rain makes such a difference doesn’t it Anna. I’ve noticed that Cyclamen hederifolium have also started flowering, another autumn flower that I don’t want to see just yet! The Golden Hop looks very pretty, but the flowers are not what I was expecting, I’m just guessing that they must be male!
Thanks for the wander through your garden, Pauline. I enjoyed it very much! The Comma butterfly on the buddlia is a delightful sight. We also had a very dry July, the driest month of the year so far. It was tough, with our high temperatures. Fortunately, the first days of August brought some desperately needed rain.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Deb. All the butterflies are now fluttering round the garden, adding to the colour that we have at the moment. We have had some more rain now with more to come tonight, the garden is certainly looking better for it and our temperature have also come down to a more sensible level. The plants and I are both enjoying the cooler weather!
Good to see and hear (as there is still a picture ptoblem on some photos…😐) what’s going on in your garden. I have given up with day lilies and crocosmia as they just weren’t flowering despite regular splitting although the occasional crocosmia reappears. I am so pleased you have had rain finally – we had a number of decent doses which the garden really appreciated
Strangely Cathy, I have never split my Crocosmias and Day lilies, they have made really large clumps and flower vigorously. I have a feeling that when I do split them, the flowering won’t be as good for quite a few years. I’m really enjoying the rain and cooler temperatures, more like what it should be for this time of year.
That Yucca is wonderful. I simply love Rosa Charlotte. My Japanese anemones are coming out too. Comma’s are lovely butterflies aren’t they? You do have such a beautiful garden. xxx
It is still taking centre stage Dina, the first thing I see out of the back door, I hope it lasts for a while longer. Lots of butterflies are now visiting, but I think the commas are special.
Thanks for the tour, you’re right that the plants look much better than you’d expect from the heat and dry!
The hydrangeas do enjoy your garden. Here they struggle and it’s a feat to have a shrub with more than just a few flowers, and the biggest frustration is to hear that the successful gardeners do nothing special, it just flowers on it’s own!
Enjoy the cooler weather.
There are times when I curse my heavy clay soil Frank, but now is when I am really glad of it. The hydrangeas must have their roots down deep and there must be moisture there in spite of the drought we had.
Temperatures are back to normal now thank goodness, the plants and I are much happier!
Pauline, I’m happy, yet amazed, your hydrangeas and the garden in general have tolerated the drought so well—a testament to your gardening expertise. That’s a beautiful proof the comma butterfly.
…beautiful “photo ” of the comma, that should read!
We have now had a complete change in the weather Susie, it is now a lot cooler and we are having lots of rain every day! The plants are certainly enjoying the rain and I am enjoying it being a lot cooler! We are having lots more butterflies visiting the garden now, I must photograph more of them.