We have had our best summer weather since 1976, that was the summer we got married and I have no idea how well my dad’s roses did that summer, sadly he only lived until 1980 so I can’t ask him how his garden fared in the heat. He was a very keen gardener which now that I think about it must have been an unexpected passion as he lived most of his life in a city flat with no garden.
Anyway, I had thought that the unusual heat we had this year would be just what my plants needed, but although they grew well most of them didn’t bloom as well as usual. The roses were particularly disappointing. I’m greedy where roses are concerned and choose varieties that keep coming back with flushes of blooms throughout the summer and autumn. Despite careful and constant dead-heading my roses only flowered once this summer and they were over very quickly. So quickly that I don’t seem to have got any photos of them at all. It is only September so in theory they might flower again – but I’m not holding my breath, I think they just didn’t enjoy the heat, which I can’t understand as most rose species originate from Asia.
Flowers quickly drooped in the heat and frazzled, there’s not much shade in this garden – yet.
On the other hand my raspberries did very well this year, so I was surprised when Monty Don mentioned on Gardeners’ World that his crop of raspberries was poor this year. I wonder what his strawberries were like, I had such a glut that we got fed up eating them and I made some into jam.
The photo below is of the rockery which has been engulfed by a type of potentilla. I bought one plant and it has seeded itself, deciding that the rockery was the perfect spot to settle down in. The bees adored it so I put up with it there but eventually had to set to and dig it up. That was easier said than done for it had enormous thick fleshy roots, especially considering it had only been there for one season. I suspect that they are going to continue to come back and haunt me for some years as I just couldn’t get all the roots out.
The Euphorbia Fireglow below is another plant that spreads around a lot, and you have to be very careful when you pull it up as the stems and roots secrete a milky liquid which will burn your skin badly. It’s definitely one of the times when wearing gloves is safest.
I always enjoy seeing your garden…just a little jealous of your strawberries and raspberries. Your back yard is so much fuller than what I remember from earlier pictures.
My husband and I also got married in 1976!
Paula,
Our Spring was so late in appearing this year – then everything in the garden just sort of exploded in early May. I’ll have to move some plants soon though, before the frosts come as some are outgrowing their space. 1976 was a good year for weddings it seems! Our anniversary is August 2nd.
Your garden is beautiful!
Margaret,
Thanks – it’s a work in progress of course!
I’m still impressed by how full and lush your garden is after such a short time. It’s gorgeous.
Joan,
Some things have grown too lush. I’ve had to prune the cherry tree already.
I’m puzzling about the roses, wondering whether any additional watering might have necessitated extra fertiliser to get those repeat flowerings (I have no idea what soil-type you have). One of the sights and scents of summer here is a rose-garden in full bloom, simmering in the hot sunny days.
Lucky you with the raspberries and strawberries!
Hope you eliminate the potentilla – it would be a pity to lose the structure provided by the other plants.
Euphorbia sap can be beastly stuff!
Valerie,
My soil is heavy clay and it has proved to be much better for growing roses than my old garden with its light sandy soil was. I did water and feed the roses but it seems to have been a problem for a lot of rose growers in the UK. Maybe it would take a few years of hot summers before they got used to it here, but I doubt if hot summers will be a regular feature here somehow! My bush roses have been quite good, the problem has been mainly with climbers and ramblers.
It has been fun seeing how your garden has developed over the years. How many years has it been?
I had been thinking about planting some Euphorbia because I like the looks and it is drought tolerant, but worried about handling it with the irritating liquid. Although I usually do use gloves as a matter of course.
tracybham,
We have lived at the new place for just over four years now and the ‘garden’ was just all grass then. I would love the fences to be obscured by plants but I think that’ll take a few more years at least. I think that as long as you know that Euphorbia can be dangerous then it isn’t a problem, it’s easy enough to avoid the sap even if you have to cut it back. There are so many lovely Euphorbias to choose from.
Your garden has come on so much since that patch of grass when you moved in. I can’t believe the change.
Jo,
Thanks. It has been hard work but it’s a good way of keeping fit-ish.