I started to write this blog last week and this is what I had written …At last we’ve had some rain! I know I shouldn’t wish for it but I have planted a lot of new plants into the ground so they needed a good soaking.

Well we got some rain and more and more and more!! I suppose its my fault then we had so much ….

So here’s what’s happening (good and not so good) in our garden in June.

The Hot Border

I have added in some of the red dahlias (called Bishops Children) I grew from seed  last year. Let’s hope the slugs leave them alone. After all that rain it’s unlikely…

The peonies have come out but the rain has bashed them down now sadly.  There are a couple of pink ones which need to be moved to the long border as they don’t really fit with my hot colour scheme, which is reds, oranges and purples mostly.

The honeysuckle on the back fence behind the border is growing well. It’s gradually covering the right hand side of the fence and I am trying to train it over the grey curved wall.

The four new lupins are finally starting to bloom, albeit one is pink and should be purple! I thought they would be a darker purple than they are but they still look very pretty. They will look better next year.

The Long Border

The delphiniums burst out and joined the alliums and the roses, which both looked lovely, until the rain came. The geraniums are still being thuggish and I’ve had to pull a load out.

The Pond

The white iris  and water marigolds have died down now and the yellow flag irises are just coming out. The water lilies are out and look as lovely as ever. There  will be lot’s more  to follow throughout the summer.

The Greenhouse

This year I have had a lot of success with my seed growing. I have loads of parsely, coriander and lettuce. The tomatoes and basil  are now in their final places and the marigolds are planted beside them to help keep the white fly away.

The aubergines and bell peppers that  bought as organic plants look really healthy and I have great hopes for a good crop.

The cosmos are now in the long border and are growing well. The alyssum are a bit a slow and the rudbeckia didn’t all germinate.

The Woodland Garden

I have now planted the plants I bought from the Malvern Flower Show, the Tiarellas and the Spotty Dotty,  which both like shade. I had also been a bit ambitious and planted the Eucalyptus Tree I dug up from the long border. It started as a small shrub but has now grown too big. I’m not sure whether it will survive but we’ll see. It looks a bit sad and dead but I’m not giving up yet. We have loads of poppies which have sprung from nowhere. They have survived the rain just about.

The honeysuckle I have trained up the dead tree is gradually climbing up the tree. I’ve put some wires up to give it a helping hand. Once it takes hold it will cling on by itself and hopefully look as if it has been there for years.

The Vegetable Plot 

We aren’t doing too good this year. The birds have pulled up beetroot, spinach and spring onion seedlings and some things have failed to grow after I transplanted them, ie.the chillies. We’ve planted more in the hope that the birds will leave them alone this time. Last year they all came up and we didn’t cover them so why it’s happened this year I don’t know. Still that’s gardening for you!

The potatoes Mark has sown in sacks are doing great.

The garlic will soon be ready to harvest and looks good.

The Lawn

Hmmm… Mark was spent a lot of time trying to get the lawn back up to its best. However, there are now patches which he has had to re-seed but they are growing. We will add some more nematodes in July and hope they prevent the leatherjacket grubs from eating the lawn.

The Courtyard

The Arum Lily is my pride and joy. It comes up year after year and looks more splendid each time.

So that is it from me for a week or so. Hopefully we will get some sunshine  and the garden will look its best.