How’s your gardening summer going? It’s definitely a mixed bag in my garden. Some things have done exceptionally well – the roses in particular. Others have struggled and even given up the fight in some cases.
I admit, there were times when I also felt like giving up this year. The difficult spring with all that rain and then the low temperatures suited nothing except the slugs and snails, which have been rife. Little has escaped their attention.
Let’s start this look around with the failures – and there are a few. Above is the remains of a cosmos – you can just about identify it from the fragment of leaf that remains. The zinnias have fared even worse with little beyond a nibbled stalk left for me to admire. I usually expect to have a few casualties but this season it’s more a case of counting the survivors.
More upsetting is the loss of this mature osmanthus. It’s been growing happily in a pot for many years, coming through drought and the severe winter of last year.
However, it suddenly started to drop leaves and investigation revealed it was waterlogged. The poor plant had literally drowned in the spring deluge despite drainage holes in the pot. There are a couple of leaves hanging on but I very much doubt it will recover and a replacement is a job for the autumn.
In contrast, this is doing rather too well. It’s saponaria, or soapwort, something that I planted many years ago and have regretted ever since – you can read about my plant mistakes here.
I thought I’d dug it all out, something that’s an ongoing job, but evidently missed this piece. Do I leave it to flower before removing it?
There have been some successes – not least sneaking this zinnia past the slugs and snails. It’s growing in an old, rusty wheelbarrow along with another of their favourite dishes, hostas. All have been nibbled but, so far, are still standing.
After sulking for many weeks, the squash are finally starting to grow and there are a few small fruits appearing. Whether they will have chance to ripen is unclear. Let’s hope we have a long, warm September.
The aubergines have fruit and the tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen. Admittedly, I was late sowing them this year due to a trip to Scotland (you can read about my trip to Edinburgh Botanic Garden here). So far, the plants are smaller than I would expect and there are fewer fruits. Again, I’m hoping the season will stretch on for a while yet.
The greenhouse melons have two fruit. Well, actually one plant has two fruit. I’ve had a stern word with the other two plants.
About half of the dahlias are now flowering – another group that’s been late to the party. ‘David Howard’ (pictured at the top of this post) is having a particularly good year. ‘Yellow Jill’ is a new one for me and rather a beauty. I like the tiny dahlias as I find them easier in a vase. The colour is echoed in the pretty flowers on Runner bean ‘Sunset’, part of my Gardening Trials.
We may be only in the first week of August but there are already signs of autumn. The Cyclamen hederifolium have been in flower for weeks and the Parrotia persica is starting to get red tints on its leaves.
Let’s hope they’re just over eager as I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer yet.
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My melon sulked and then got eaten by slugs and snails. My mum’s melons have all failed this year too.
How disappointing! I’m growing mine on the greenhouse shelf in a bid to keep them away from the slugs and snails.
It’s been a tough year for gardeners and gardens. I’ve never seen so much S&S damage and I have got pretty used to them down here in Cornwall, I tend to grow plants that are supposedly resistant to them. Clematis, lilies, asters, cosmos, parsley all chomped. My annuals were slow to grow and only now beginning to flower and the cosmos that have survived are tiny! Quite a few plants rotted in the wet too. I am now clearing away lot of things like hardy geraniums which tend to take over and cover up other plants – you’d think I’d have learned that from experience by now! And some plants have been removed and potted on to try and rescue them. Your dahlia and the runner beans are a lovely colour, but I will not be tempted into growing dahlias!
Every gardener I’ve spoken to has had a terrible year with slugs and snails. Veg is well behind and lots of flowers slow too. We can only hope it will be better next year – the eternal optimism of the gardener!