Sunshine And Showers


 

In the new herb garden.. moreĀ terracotta pots.

The Mediterranean theme continues, with the potential for a touch of Asian cookery thrown into the mix. Some of the recent rain showers have definitelyĀ been tropical in intensity. And then there was the hail. Oh how I love England in June.

 
 
 

 

The sunken square in the centre of the gravel area is an inherited fountain feature.

Now don’t let’s be thinking Geneva here. In the total absence of windĀ the sprinkle of water, a generous description, mightĀ rise to as much as a foot in height producing a tinkling sound that can’t be too far removed from Chinese water torture. At least that’s the effect it has on me. To the left of the fountain the mushroom shaped thingies are low level lights. We’ve been thinking about replacing them with those solar powered spikes (yes I know, England in June..). One of the lights is broken in any case, having found itself at the wrong end of thatĀ runaway cow.

 
 
 

 

Now that the wrens have vacated their nest, the column of ivy and clematis next to the greenhouse has come down.

The black stain on the side of the breeze block greenhouse base marks the spot recently occupied by a fern. Mike took a spade and rammed it, with some momentum, down the back of the fern to slice it off.Ā An expletive may have been uttered, along the same sort of lines as “Oh dear…” Well someoneĀ must have been looking down on me kindly that day. I couldn’t believe my luck. Because what Himself hadn’t spotted, well hidden among the fronds, was a little black wire… only the power supply for the fountain!

Thankfully disconnected at the time. Comprehensively disconnectedĀ now.

 
 
 

 

Ā Mangetout ‘Oregon Sugar Pod’

The first batch of mangetout have already reached the top of their support. Some are ready to pick.

 
 
 

 

Potato ‘Pink Fir Apple’

But something has been munchingĀ on the potato leaves. A reminder that not everything in the garden is rosy.

 
 
 

 

Lettuce ‘Lollo Bionda’, Beetroot ‘Bulls Blood Soldier’. Salad leaves, outside the back door.

I had hoped that the scratchy surface of the trough would proveĀ too much forĀ slugs and snails. I was wrong. The plants are also suffering from being in too shady a spot. The molluscĀ population is booming this year, Ā£40 we’ve spent so far on nematodes and still they nibble on.

 
 
 

 

Wishful thinking?

 
 

Apologies for not visiting any blogs over the last couple of days. They are all loaded onto the Feedly reader, yesterday crippledĀ by malicious hackers. I will catch up again soon.