august in the garden

I've really got into my stride this year with the garden. Thankfully, Ian and I came back to London after a few weeks away to a garden bursting with life and produce. Despite batteries going in our sprinkler system, our friends had saved the day with regular visits with the watering can. Thank you!

It's amazing to see how much we've been able to do in pots on a really rather tiny patio area. Most things have been grown from seed (all of the vegetables and cosmos) and just a few plants have been bought. I've learnt from mistakes made last year; the courgette has been given its own large pot to grow in, with plenty of space around it and ventilation and the results seem to be good so far. I'm still getting a lot of male flowers but there are some female ones finally coming through bearing fruit. The tomatoes are much better than last year and I think the recent heatwave is to thank for that. I've read that some people have experienced tough skins with their crops but mine seem to have escaped this and are ripening nicely.

^^ Everything is bunched up because of the sprinkler system but now it's all back to normal - though I rather liked the jungle effect! 

My first foray into cucumbers has been exciting. The fruits are spiky and despite a few early bitter fruits, the rest are sweet and tasty. They are very very odd in shape (I'm not sure if that's down to me or growing conditions) but who cares once they're chopped up into a salad! They have grown like billy-oh so i've spent a lot of time with Ian tying them up canes and supporting the heavier branches with twine. Currently I have a bit of a glut so I'm making fresh raita to go with tonight's curry. 

The beans were late in and are producing but we haven't been able to taste test them just yet. I'm hoping in the next few days or so if we get some sunnier weather. Next to the beans is an abundance of basil. Truly, it is a jungle which wafts fragrant air in the evenings, making the patio a very nice place to sit in during the evenings. I find it extraordinary that just two plants grown from seed have been able to produce this much basil. I'm giving it to friends whenever I have the opportunity and will be making pesto later this week.

^^ Can you spot that bush of basil?! 

A shishito pepper is ready to pick as are a few Redbor kale leaves - the beginnings of a simple stir fry I think! 

Finally, the plants are all growing well and my cosmos as just beginning to flower. The packet said mixed cosmos but so far they only seem to be white. Regardless, they are very pretty and are growing quick enough for me to be able to pick them and enjoy them without taking too many away from the bees and butterflies. 

I'll be sad once the garden goes over when we head into autumn but at least then I'll be able to start planning next year's harvest! My plans are big! 

L. 

hidcote manor

I feel somewhat reluctant to share this garden with you. It has been my most favourite place for many years and often one does not feel like sharing one's favourite place in order to protect it from being engulfed by the masses. But, seeing as my readership is very small, I don't think this will have too adverse an effect!

Hidcote Manor is perched high up in the Cotswolds above Chipping Campden with views out across to Warwickshire in one direction, Oxfordshire in another and back home towards Worcestershire in the other. My first memory of visiting Hidcote was when I was very little. Mum, my brother and I explored the gardens, raced up the grassy, hornbeam-lined avenue and dipped our fingers into the cool water fountain. My brother leapt across the Ha-ha, almost giving my mum and her friend a heart attack as we didn't know if there were spikes in its bottom but thankfully he emerged safe and unharmed. After, we picked raspberries in the next door PYO farm. Since that visit we have gone back every summer; I adore it. 

This summer I pre-booked some tickets (as this is the new norm now) and Mum, Ian and I headed over in the searing heat for this year's visit. Though a little wilder than previous years (the gardeners were all furloughed), it is still as magical and beautiful. My interest in gardens has grown tenfold in recent years and now I often wonder whether I missed my vocation as a gardener. Perhaps one day I can give it a go, once I've learnt a few more plant names. 

^^ Beautiful dahlias smiling up at us

Does anyone know what this is? Mum wasn't sure but they were like big clouds of bubblegum in the softest pink. 

Sunning ourselves in the heatwave!

^^ These phlox flowers were everywhere in all kinds of colours; lilac, as above, whites and hot pinks. We have some at home called Laura, which is very apt for Mum.

^^ This beautiful rambling plant was growing on the facade of the house - is it a clematis? The flowers were huge and trumpet like in both purple and cream. We had never seen it before so if you recognise it, please let me know! 

Another successful visit, despite the strange circumstances! 

L. 

time in the country

With a potentially long stretch of furlough ahead of me, we decided to head back to my parents for a stint in the countryside. We packed up the car with tomato plants and the lettuces and headed off for some time away from the hot city and crowded parks. Ian is still working so set up camp at home and I spent time cooking and enjoying having more space and lots of garden to play with. We explored new walking routes and even walked the majority of the Malvern Hills and climbed Bredon Hill. We even tried wild swimming in the River Avon on one particularly hot evening. It was all pretty idyllic.

 

A good thing to have come from this global pandemic has been the confirmation that we want to move out of London in the near-ish future and return to the countryside. I think we've both realised that we're country mice - though London will always hold a very special place in our hearts. 

L.