Reflections

July and August are such great months for the garden(er). The results of all the hard work back in spring are on display and it is time to sit back and take it all in.
It is also the moment to evaluate the effect of all combinations and see what is worth repeating and what could be improved on next year.
The dahlias once again are a big success and keep on producing wonderful flowers.

Unfortunately most of the sunflowers got eaten by slugs (grrr) and they did not manage to shine like they did last year. And once again I completely misjudged the amount of space certain plants need. My tomato jungle is joined by a pattison forrest which does not seem to stop growing and the undergardener is only just about tolerating them creeping over the border-grass boundary.

And I vaguely remember planting phlox, picked up at a plant swap earlier this year, somewhere in the garden this spring. I gave up on it, thinking it also fell victim to the slugs. But to my great surprise it stuck its head up through the crop canopy, right next to the tiny apple tree which is also swamped by the tomatoes.

Next year we definitely have to change something about the way we grow the runner beans. The garden fence is a handy help for them to climb onto, but perhaps it is just a little too adventurous and not very practical to get a ladder to pick the beans from the neighbour’s tree.

The scent of spring and the hunt is on

The garden is bursting with flowers and new shoots and with it come those lovely scents of spring. Our new quince is absolutely packed with blossom giving off a lovely perfume that reminds me of old fashioned soap.

And an unexpected surprise: the multi-headed daffodils I bought in a variety pack have the most wonderful fragrance. I didn’t even know daffodils could smell this nice! Definitely worth taking very good care of them, so they will keep doing their magic year after year.

The good old lavender is early this year and is churning out flowers. The (bumble)bees once again have found their way to our garden and day in day out are getting drunk on lavender nectar. That must be a sign of good things to come.

But in the meantime my nemesis is waking up and starting to slither around. In between the little spells of rain I have been rushing into the garden with my trowel to go slug and snail hunting. Last year they nearly won the war as they kept lining up battalions of thick orange and brown giants eating up the fresh green shoots. But this year it is going to be different: I have been lifting them from the garden when they are still tiny. Hopefully their big family members will respect the fence around our garden and eat the neighbours’ greens.