Flowers for July, part 1.

Another month where the sun has been in very short supply, non stop rain most days, all thanks apparently to the jet stream in the upper atmosphere sitting over the south of England. Floods in the nearest town are very depressing for the people living there, we continually have to go the long way round, our usual route seems to be perpetually flooded. In spite of all this plants carry on flowering, some better than usual, so here is my months supply of flowers in the garden. Had to make the most of every moment when the rain stopped for a few minutes, to dash out with the camera and photograph what I could.  This first photo is of a purple leaved Heuchera at the entrance of the woodland, by the bridge over the ditch.

Not sure where this lovely campanula came from, don’t remember planting it but it looks very nice with the artemisia.

The Alliums have done far better than I thought they would with all the rain that we have had. This one is Christophii with lovely huge heads.

A flower spike, similar to an astilbe, is put up by the rodgersia in the bog garden.

Another campanula which is spreading a bit too much, keeping company with Rosa The Countryman. There are plenty of places I can move the campanula to in the autumn, will have to spend some time splitting it up.

This is the Iris ensata Gold Band which I bought at Marwood Hill Garden a couple of weeks ago, still to be planted but will have to move some daylilies first as they don’t need the moist soil in the bog garden.

Astilbes are just starting to flower, and loving all the rain, glad something is!

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is very fussy where it pops up. I have sprinkled loads of seed where I would like it, where has it come up – in the vegetable garden!

Alstroemeria were planted in the border by the field almost 20 years ago and at last they are starting to multiply. Good for cutting now that I have more flowers.

Popping up in the lawn / grass, is Prunella vulgaris commonly known as self heal as it was used, ground up with wood ash, to heal wounds to the skin! It is certainly looking very pretty, I don’t mind the grass looking quite blue in places, it is a good plant for bees.

Not a flower I know, but adding to the border in the front are the seedheads of Nectaroscordum, looking very like fairytale castles.

Another opium poppy appearing in the veggie garden next to the blackcurrants, reminding me of blackcurrant fool.

This foxglove ended up over 8ft tall before it finally succumbed to the rain and bowed over the lawn.

A bee could stay nice and dry in there!

Hardy fuchsias are now starting to flower giving a nice waterfall effect.

Allium giganteum now flowering, the head is so tightly packed with tiny flowers, beautiful sphere.

Trachelospermum jasminoides is climbing up the pergola and has the most delightful perfume that you suddenly catch as you are walking through to the veggies.

Lilies are now starting to flower, more delicious perfume around the garden from Lilium regale, something has been having a nibble.

The purple flowered Linaria arrived by itself many years ago but just 2 or 3 yrs ago the pink form started arriving, very welcome addition.

Saxifrage stolonifera is gently creeping around in shady areas, has lovely little flowers dancing like butterflies.

Day lilies, hemerocallis, are flowering everywhere. Usually I remove the dead heads but this year the rain has made this impossible. I’m trying to keep off the lawn as much as possible because it is so sodden, huge muddy footprints form which I’m sure doesn’t do it any good.

A tiny golden leaved campanula which is on the alpine scree, looking like a patch of sunshine in this dull weather.

A plant that really shouldn’t like my garden, Erigeron karvinskianus. The original plant died but seeded itself into the crack between the house wall and the paving. It can only be existing with its roots in sand, there can’t be anything else under there for it to live on. I’m very grateful that it found somewhere that it is happy.

The purple leaved Sempervivum which featured in the last foliage post that I did, has decided to flower. The flower seems so huge compared to the actual plant. The rosette which flowers will die, but the other rosettes soon fill in the space.

This lovely Iris is I. ensata which is in the bog garden, the last of my iris to flower there. The clump is now quite huge , so splitting can take place once flowering is over, that is if I can ever get onto the soil in the bog garden without sinking!!

There are lots of clematis flowering but I will be doing a post about them soon, also there are lots more primulas in the bog garden, but don’t want to bore you with more as I’ve shown quite a lot in other posts and the same with the roses. I would say that on the whole the garden has benefitted from all the rain that we have been having, it remains to be seen how the bulbs in the ground are coping  or will they be rotting away, hopefully not.

Yesterday, hooray, was warm and sunny!!! How did we make the most of this wonderful weather, by sitting in the Walk in Clinic at Exeter Hospital ! Being fed up the other day with getting soaked when going to the greenhouse, even when it had stopped raining, I decided to cut everything back that was flopping over the path. All of a sudden there was a sharp pain in the middle finger of my left hand. Nothing to worry about I thought, by bedtime there was just a small red pinprick. Next morning it was bright red, with lots of blood under the skin, an area about 1cm, still not very worried. When I got up yesterday morning, 15th, there were red lines going up my arm, time to panic!! Hours and hours later, when the best part of the day was over, I was bandaged up and sent home with some antibiotics and told to keep my arm raised, hang on, can’t type with just one hand, I’d better stop! Gardens are dangerous places, you never know what is lurking, waiting to attack!