Thank goodness it is a bit cooler, not much some days, but enough so that I don’t feel as though I’m melting! Still no decent amount of rain, we keep getting told that we are going to have thunder storms, we hear the thunder but – no rain except for a little drizzle for 5 minutes, my water butts are all empty now so I’m being very careful with how much I’m taking from the tap as we pay for every drop that we use. Needless to say, the garden is looking rather tired by now, but I know it will cope for a bit longer. However there are a few plants that are coping well, mainly with bulbs corms and tubers.
Here are my six for this week…………
No 1
Not a bulb, corm or tuber, but a blackbird! Mrs B. is on her second brood of babies and is eating me out of house and home. She gets all the meal worms that I’m putting out, I’m putting out extra rations as she has so many mouths to feed, but even so she expects more every time I step outside to do my gardening. One of these days I’m going to trip over her as she is always fussing round my feet. I can see that she will have time for a third brood!
No 2
A lovely dark purple day lily or hemerocallis. They have really proved their worth this year, they take being flooded each winter and now in the drought they carry on flowering as though nothing is different. Amazing plants.
No 3
Lysimachia ephemerum is beginning to wander, so must be split this autumn. I thought this was the only Lysimachia that was well behaved, it was for about 10 or so years but now it is spreading too far, so some will find new homes elsewhere in the garden.
No 4
A dark blue Agapanthus, almost Navy blue, which makes a change from all the paler ones that I have. All the Agapanthus are doing well in spite of no rain and no watering.
White agapanthus in the front border are flowering as never before, they have gone mad with the number of flower heads this year.
No 5
When I looked in the woodland the other day it was all looking very autumnal with leaves down everywhere, mainly the Horse Chestnuts. In a dark corner I saw that the Honesty had made its silver seed pods already, making it seem even more autumnal.
No 6
The white hydrangea under the kitchen window is doing very well without any rain or watering, I think because there are no hungry tree roots nearby. Some of the flowers, I’ve noticed have blue in the centre and some have pink, I wonder why there is a difference all on the same bush?
Crocosmia are also doing really well, but they will have to wait for another week as those are my 6 for this week. Thanks once more to our host Jon The Propagator, do pop over to see what he is doing, running or gardening or even going on holiday and what other gardeners have been doing in their gardens this week.
Lovely to hear about your blackbird. I have an Agapanthus which is slowly , oh so very slowly coming into bloom.
Mrs Blackbird is working so hard, where’s Mr. when he’s needed! The youngsters are starting to feed themselves now so I don’t think it will be long before she is sitting on eggs again, poor thing! Agapanthus are so slow to open aren’t they, but well worth the wait I think. The navy one is new last year, such a lovely dark colour.
Pretty colour that this dark agapanthus! I also have a blue but a little lighter and brighter. More will arrive in the coming weeks.
My dark Agapanthus was new last year Fred, but is increasing nicely already. My paler ones are by the front drive with white ones.
A great selection. I smiled reading about Mrs Blackbird and her brood. It sounds like you’re doing a good job as an extended part of the family.
Thanks Graeme, I’m doing my best to keep Mrs. B well fed so she can cope with her increasing family!
Poor Mrs B really is being kept busy. I bought Lysimachia ephemerum some years ago and I love it. So far it has been well behaved but thank you for the warning Pauline, I will be keeping a close eye on it!
She waits for me every morning Denise, no matter how early I come downstairs and then pesters each time I come into the garden for the rest of the day, but she only gets her breakfast from me! The Lysimachia is lovely but now that it has started wandering, it is going to have to be watched, all my others had to be removed as they were aiming for world domination!
Lovely hydrangea, and that purple lily too.
Thanks Barbara, I think the purple day lily needs moving to somewhere that has more moisture, it has only sent up one flower stalk this year, even so the flowers have been gorgeous!
Where do you put the mealworms, Pauline? We usually have 2 or 3 pairs of blackbirds but tend not to see where the nests are until later in the year when we have been cutting foliage back. Lots of leaves down here too, and an early autumn looks likely. That purple day lily looks really striking, as done the Lysimachia -shame about its habits!!
The mealworms just get put down on the paving Cathy. To start with the wood pigeons and magpies swooped down and got the lot until I put an RSPB cage over them. Now just the blackbirds, robins and small birds can access them.The blackbirds nest in the garden but I don’t go looking for the nests, there are so many trees and shrubs they can use. Once they used the swinging seat, making their nest round one of the uprights, that put an end to our swinging for that summer!
I just love how that blackbird has trained you! So many lovely blooms, even in this heat. Lucky you with all those agapanthus, they don’t do well here. That hydrangea is beautiful.xxx
Yes, I’m very well trained Dina! The roses have stopped flowering in the heat, but plants with corms, tubers or bulbs have the flower already formed last year so they are the ones that still flower even though we haven’t had any measurable rain this month. I saw a map of rainfall for this month on the news yesterday and where we are has had 0mm rain, we really need some but there isn’t any on the horizon, we get the occasional drizzle that lasts for about 5 minutes, but that is all.x