And then there is August....

I've heard that the test of a good gardener is to have a garden full of colour in August because there is a natural lull between the end of the summer show and the onset of the autumn bloomers.  August is the month that usually has the least rainfall so many plants avoid flowering during this period - though currently our garden is enjoying a period of heavy downpours!

Although we try to balance the planting at Springfield, it is a challenge to achieve the full on pizzazz of spring and early summer.  You have to look a little harder to find colour and interest at this time of year and if it wasn’t for the energy and abundance in the vegetable and fruit garden, seeing the Foxgloves droop, the dancing Osteospermums fade and the rose petals fall,  I could feel dispirited.

We tend to have a tidy up in August and this can lift us.  Hedge cutting begins in earnest and I have several sessions deadheading the roses to encourage a late flush of flowers.  Hardy Geraniums benefit from a good hair cut and will often come into flower again later in the year.  We also prune back the cordon apple trees, shrubs and those perennials which have finished flowering.  If you don’t cut back Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle) it seeds everywhere and will take over the garden the following year.

Growing bedding plants in containers and baskets can keep the colour going but we have a large garden as it is, without adding to the surface area and there is enough watering to do in the vegetable garden.  We do have two lovely hardy Fuchsias outside the front door though and they flower all summer and into the autumn.  I rate them as ‘Good Doers’ for any garden.  They have the bonus of being happy in shade and I over-winter them in the greenhouse ready to flower again the following season.

The Viticella group of clematis flower at this time of year and we have Etoile Violette which has small purple flowers to perk up a trellis. It is growing through a young Wisteria which because it is young, is all leaves and no excitement.  The combination always finishes up as a tangle at the end of the season but it’s worth it.

Salvias and Penstemons flower in August but can get lost in a large garden so we love the Buddleia which we let rip.  It has huge arching stems and long purple flowers which compliment the silvery leaves.  The Crocosmias enter the stage in August too, as do the cheerful Heleniums,  Asters and Sedums. 

So we do have August colour but it is rather restrained and the plants are dotted all over the place.  I think we need larger borders at Springfield so we can plant large swathes of the later flowering perennials and perhaps give some space over to some more large shrubs to continue the interest.  Gardens never stand still.  I will add my idea to the list! 

Catching up ...

Even the keenest gardeners need a break from their gardens.  We have been away in Northern Ireland, visiting family and we had a wonderful time with our Granddaughter, Olympia.  However, it was good to see the garden again and we always feel privileged to come home to Springfield’s abundance.  We arrived back feeling refreshed; inspired by other gardens we have seen on our travels and saw the plot with ‘fresh’ eyes. 

However, the joy of exploring the garden soon gave way to the realisation that we had to work hard to catch up with nature.  We did not expect to see quite so much growth - very hot weather tends to slow the garden down - but it seems to have done the opposite.  The Green Fingers Award of Garden Merit definitely goes to our lovely neighbour who was stoic with the watering cans.  Emily is a novice gardener but managed everything wonderfully well.  We cannot say thank you enough.

Emily helped herself to produce but there were still masses of fruit and veg to harvest.  The lettuces went berserk (anyone fancy a sack load of salad?) and there were tomatoes, spring onions, courgettes, peas, strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, parsley, potatoes, onions and beetroot.  And of course, as the trugs were filled we have had to either cook and eat the bounty, or freeze it - or as I was doing late last night, making beetroot chutney. (There is only a certain amount of goats’ cheese and beetroot salad that 2 people can eat.  There is a vegetable rack full of courgettes too.

The cucumber plants are noticeably less productive this summer as they do prefer cooler conditions but there are enough fruits for our needs.  They keep much better if you store them in a cool larder rather than the fridge. The summer cabbages have not hearted but the red cabbages though are growing okay. The pumpkins are swelling nicely but the butternut squash are mostly foliage with just a few flowers and fruit.  The late raspberries are just starting to fruit and today we had 4 each on our muesli, topped off with what felt like the equivalent of a whole punnet of strawberries – each!

The stars of the show were the luscious cherries.  There were not many but they are highly prized as they are so expensive to buy in the shops.  A couple of years ago, we bought a Stella cherry tree to train into a fan up a south facing trellis.  This variety has an RHS Award of Garden Merit and is grafted onto dwarf rootstock to keep it under control – cherry trees can otherwise grow to an enormous size.  The tree is renowned for producing lots of sweet black/purple cherries.  However, as you can see from the photo ours is not a Stella tree.  It has large, RED fruits with a delicious sweet-sharpness.  It tree must have been labelled incorrectly and we are hoping that it is not a too vigorous variety.  It is very healthy apart from some ants and aphid attack but I put a sticky collar to discourage the ants and had a good session squishing aphids.  I am thinking of naming our tree: Serendipity.

Summer is simply not summer without the gorgeous scent of sweet peas drifting around the house and garden and my free packet of mixed seeds has done really well.  (Thank you Gardeners World Magazine)  We picked so many of the flowers before we went away that the smell in the kitchen gave us a headache!  Sadly, those plants which were setting seed got missed and this reduces flower production.  However, there is still a presentable show and my favourite colour this year is the stripy pink one.

 

I am sorry I can’t linger here longer (I would like to improve my blog and find out why my followers have disappeared from view.....) but there is still work to do in the garden. But it is joyous, simply joyous to bring in the harvest.  I must remember to dead head all the roses and cut back the hardy geraniums so that (hopefully) there will be another flush of blooms later in the season.

 

Red is the colour

 

Redcurrants and strawberries don't need any big introductions. They speak for themselves.  Glistening, juicy beads which have a sharp flavour.  Luscious, fragrant berries.  What's not to like?



 

We have enjoyed 6 of these....so far!

I freeze the redcurrants on open trays and then pack into polythene freezer bags.  I then make them into jewel-like redcurrant jelly (sometimes with the addition of Port!) or as a topping for baked cheese cake.  However, Summer Pudding would not be the same without redcurrants to compliment the rasperries and blackcurrants. 

Recurrants also team up well with almonds so occasionally I make a fatless swiss roll (whisking method), using ground almonds in place of some of the flour.  I fill the swiss roll with redcurrants folded into a mixture of whipped cream and marscapone cheese.  Decorated with toasted almonds, it is lovely.

After years of growing strawberries this is the first season we have enjoyed a glut and this is surprising given the awful early spring we had.  Dare I say, we are fed up of strawberries - literally!

Anyway, I given some away to friends and I have made some into puree and frozen it to have with porridge in the winter.  I also have a recipe for a speedy ice cream  The sliced berries are frozen.  To make the ice cream, put 1 1b of the frozen fruit into  a food processor and whizz up with 6 ozs sugar and a dash of rosewater, until chopped.  With the processsor running, pour in half a pint of double cream.  Serve it immediately as it is, or re-freeze and store for a day or two. 

 



My New Friend

Beyond Springfield there is a valley and open fields.  We love the view and the peace and quiet of nature and we have learned to live alongside the wildlife it brings, even if some people would regard some of the animals as pests.

There many early mornings that we see half a dozen rabbits grazing in the orchard and from time to time they venture further up the garden for a rummage in the borders or a play on the lawn.  They think they visit unseen but of course our ankles find the holes they leave behind and there are droppings everywhere.  

Mr Macgregor’s Garden is fenced off with ‘L’ shaped chicken wire and trellis because we did not think they would take any notice of Doc's ‘Rabbits Keep Out’ sign.  We also have high, raised beds and this does appear to help deter them.   In any case, there is a huge choice of food they can eat because the neighbours also have large gardens with plenty of lush munchings.  There is loads of space for everyone to share.

So, there is no need to trap the rabbits and make pies with them.  Any new ornamental borders are planted with hope (“let’s see if the rabbits destroy that.....”) and some plants have survived and some have not.  Anything precious is wrapped in chicken wire and the young fruit trees in the orchard have little jackets around the base of their trunks.

Yesterday, I was down on the plot picking sweet peas and enjoying the birdsong, when I noticed a cotton tail poking out of the grass near the raised bed where some tasty courgettes are growing nicely.  I suggested the rabbit move along by firmly shooing it away.  It looked me in the eye and then continued to graze.  I put down my snippers and trug and walked across to it.  And when I say right up to it, I mean within a couple of feet.  

With a mouth stuffed with clover, he/she looked at me again.   I looked at him. It was definitely a face off.  Again, I politely suggested he leave.  No response.

Usually, rabbits are shy creatures.  They will graze if undisturbed but if you go near them, they hop off into the hedgerow.  Not this one.  This one is friendly.  This one wants to stick around and get to know me.

Today, my ‘new friend’ was in the same spot again, laid on his side and basking in the sunshine.  He does not look poorly, it munches the grass and today it hopped onto to the raised bed to investigate the courgette plants which is not something I wish to encourage.

If anyone, has any suggestions how I can persuade this fury visitor that it would be better for him and me if we keep our relationship at a distance, please let me know.  Gardeners have to choose their friends very carefully because there could come a day when I will have to choose either our friendship or a row of lettuces - and I will choose the latter.  Already I am beginning to think the rabbit looks cute and a certain name keeps popping into my head.  

Please go, Peter, before it’s too late......