Violet's Garden Diary

Today’s singular achievement is planting out a couple of sweetcorn in between surviving raspberries.

Yesterday we harvested half a dozen carrots, of a decent size, from the row next to the early broad beans. Planted out the teeny weedy lettuce cells in their space. Been having a few good salads from the garden, especially helped by the dill and coriander.

Umm, where do I start? With the absolutely glorious white lily, filling the evening with scent? Or the plant fair at the weekend?

Last Saturday Annabelle insisted on accompanying me to the Selbourne rare plants fair, at the Gilbert White’s House. I’d been meaning to go for a few years. And of course the whining started within 20 minutes of getting there. Which is not long enough to explore all the treasures. However, we did manage to acquire:

• A Seale Super Rose, by name of Super Fairy, which has now replaced the sickly honeysuckle on the wall outside the garage. It is purported to reach 5m spread ‘eventually’, so we shall pray for it. And feed it. Slosh the feed on, the lady said to me, and you won’t have to worry about the blackspot. Let’s hope she is right. Except the food has run out today…
• A Greek basil, which is the one and only basil suitable for growing in the open soil in England. It was the last one, of course. I got one from Wisley a couple of years ago, but haven’t been able to find it since. This lady told me that Chiltern can supply the seeds, so guess where next year’s seed order will be coming from…
• A delightfully delicate Jacob’s ladder, which fades from the palest lilac to cream. Fell in love. And it was the last one, too. And we got there not long after it opened. This one has now gone into the shady side of the rockery, braving the conditions somewhat.
• A pink Lampranthus for the rockery, from a coastal nursery. I know, definitely braving it. It did survive at Island for quite a few years, and I’ve taken cuttings.
• Also an Echeveria, which I’ve never had before, and definitely will have to take cuttings of
• A mini yellow potentilla. Had to rip out a load of oxalis to make room for those two, but they didn’t go to waste, as the school fair is next weekend, and there are a lot more pots for it now
• A non-smelly thyme, which couldn’t join the culinary selection, but has nice flowers, so has gone at the foot of the rockery
• A lovely new addition to the primula collection: P. poissonii, my favourite shade of mauve.
• Some outrageously expensive seeds: coriander and purple sprouting.
• A recycled-metal bee on a spring. I wanted the big frog, to sit by the pond. But was running out of purchasing steam by then, so didn’t get both. sigh.

I think we did quite well, really. And the village fair later the same day has also resulted in a Streptocarpus. I think I have almost recovered now. At least I’ve stopped saying ’streptocarpus’ for no apparent reason every few hours. It’s called Stella, and is pinky-purpley blotchy. I really hope that I won’t kill it. Too quickly.

So, there was all that to plant out, and also a couple of climbing beans to replace the slug victims. Also re-sowed one end of the bean den, and planted out one of the Monardas into the main border. We have sampled the first few Polka raspberries, they are pretty good. Same day as I cleared out the dead remnants of the Galante, which have definitely got some soil/root disease. A few canes have survived, and might even fruit, but are nothing like the vigourous growth of the Polka. Broad bean picking is going apace, although Maurice can never have enough of those. Also been having lettuce and leaves, and strawberries from the pot, and mopped up the last few redcurrants. The remontant strawberry is flowering again, so they will be some more later.

The African violet has not been mentioned, but has been gracing the dinner table for a few weeks, now joined by the lily that broke off despite being staked. And the achimenes get brought out onto the patio table when we eat outside.

Survey of the state of things towards end of June:

Patio

• Lilies are not quite open
• Passion flower has started, and is covered in a million buds
• Currants are nearly all picked
• Blueberries coming on nicely so far, but still a long way off ripe
• Glamini in pot have shot up their spikes, but not yet open
• Primula Littoniana flowering in both pots
• Geraniums
• Feverfew in full blast
• White campion

Rockery

• Helianthemum Ben Heckla still resplendent, has been going for at least a month now
• Golden garlic going over now
• Verbascum Letitia glorious, swamping over some of the gentian
• Californian poppies of every hue
• Drosanthemum Hispidum – love it
• Diascias
• Alliums: orephilum pretty much over, unifolium well finished, but still has the purple bulbils to make it interesting, cernuum doesn’t actually do too well in the rockery, but has self-seeded into the gravel around, to my immense relief
• The odd flower on the phlox
• Oxalis of both flavours

Main border

• Last few yellow aquilegias
• Penstemons just starting
• Welsh poppies still going, but running out of puff
• Salvia roemeriana Hot Trumpets – why do I think it’s not what it says on the label? Because it isn’t. Knew it. What is it though? That’s a harder question to answer. Scabiosa atropurpurea is my best guess.
• Endless stencilled geraniums
• The fag end of the bleeding hearts
• Thalictrum is pretty much done now
• Yellow foxgloves have put up the spikes, but are not yet open
• Some more white campions and feverfew

Pond

• Orange globeflowers, lots
• Primula bulleyana and florindae
• Cork-screw rush

Veg patch

• Lovage – it’s 7ft high!
• Tomatoes pushing 3ft by now, most have set the first truss
• Early beans are picking, the second lot are still quite small, but look set for a good crop
• Peas can be counted on the fingers of one hand, as can any decent carrots
• A few ready lettuces
• Raspberries: Polka are shooting up new canes very fast, and have set a good bit of fruit on the old ones. Very few of the Galante look likely to survive at all.
• Dill absolutely everywhere!
• Thymes along the path – some finished, some just starting
• Self-sown nasturtiums under the apple tree
• Morning glory up the posts – still a bit weedy, only one flower at a time

Front

• Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’ (aka the hedge) has done rather well this year, might keep it after all
• Wild and oriental poppies, although the oriental’s pretty much finished now
• Jacob’s ladder – a bit wee
• Last of the aquilegias
• clematis Trevor Lawrence – just starting, hope it doesn’t blow down again
• Lady’s mantle
• the usual suspects – campion, feverfew, geraniums

Honeysuckles: most are OK, except for the one out by the garage, japonica methinks, which will have to go, as the powdery mildew has got it AGAIN.

Quick dash in the evening to finally plant out the 3 seed-raised orange peppers, also one of the basil pots, and 6 leeks, dotted about here and there.

Managed to squeeze in a short row of sugar snaps, as Maurice is so desperate for more peas. And some more carrots (Nantes 2, as I count it late now). And then realised that I’d forgotten about the sweetcorn, and there is no space for them now. Will have to wait till the broad beans are finished. They are doing pretty well, though not enough for a family meal yet. The currants are at their peak, and the strawberries keep going. Bean den is coming up pretty well, though nothing in the propagator.

Also mulched around the dwarf French beans, which have funny purple flower buds. Planted out the marigolds a few days ago.

Amazing difference between the gazanias in the rockery and the ones in pots, and it’s not in the rockery’s favour – I guess it’s a lot drier than the pampered containers, although I would have thought that gazanias of all things wouldn’t mind.

The pot strawberries are starting now, and they are pretty smashing, too.

Found a newt in the pond while clearing the duckweed! The tadpoles are still disappointingly small, and have no legs, hope the newt won’t have eaten them all before the get to the frog bit – we need more frogs.

The watering goes on and on…

Cram it all in! Tied up the clematis that was blown down off its trellis while we were away. It really can’t hold onto it by itself, needs tying in, which is a bit tricky up that high with packed flower bed in front of it.

Planted out the zinnia to replace the eaten-up dahlias. Finally edged up the new flower bed along the front path, which took quite a bit of weeding as well. Other odd bits of weeding and mulching to keep the weeds down – better late than never.

Red currants nearly ready now.

Finally did the cucumber patch, which needed a lot of clearing. Somehow ended up with loads of Bushy’s and only one Crystal Apple. Worst of all, the watermelons didn’t make it through our week away, so it is just the cucumbers. Bum.

Started picking the odd broad bean, children eating them whole.

Most of the last sowings have come up quite well (carrots, radish and salad leaves). Something is appearing in the growbag, but can’t remember which side is which since I moved it.

Turned out the compost bin, and took a load out the bottom for the “courgette patch”. What a smelly job! These tall bins really are silly, as I can’t reach in to turn the stuff properly. That’s where greed leads – I wanted a bigger one to get more compost!

The first strawberries are ready! And it’s the Mara des Bois in the grow-bag that have won race with the Cambridge Favourite. They are absolutely delicious, can’t get enough of them.

Some of the seedlings have had a rough time while we were away, but most of the bigger pots are fine. The dahlias I planted out the front have been eaten up completely, despite all the slug pellets. And lovely red poppies out the front now, both the wild and the oriental sorts