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Garden Diary – Goodbye to the hottest, driest July!
As the hottest, driest July I can remember drew to an end, the temperatures dropped into the much more pleasant mid-twenties. Finally on the last evening of the month we must have had rain as we awoke on 1st August to damp paths. Unfortunately, before we all got too excited about the second few drops of the month, it wasn’t much and had dried up before we’d finished breakfast, with no noticeable benefit. Who would have ever thought that we’d be craving rain in a British summer! We did have a few more surprise drops on the Sunday afternoon, that sent us scurrying outside to collect up the power tools…
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Garden Diary – Time to smell the roses, but mind the new fly!
Monday 4th May 2026 Lots of yummy strawberries on the way 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓 Just need to keep squirrel Nutkin off 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️ #kitchengarden #growyourown #Homegrown The Rhodo down in the white garden, against next doors Bramley (yes scrumping does go on), at the beginning of the bank holiday weekend 🌿🤍🌿🤍🌿🤍 Wishing you all a super bank holiday Monday 🌞💦 #bankholidayweekend #whiteflowers Tuesday 5th May 2026 After a big chop last year, I’m relieved my rhododendron has survived & is still flowering 🌿💜🌿💜🌿💜🌿 The sun finally came out around 6 last night, this seems to be so often the way ☀️ #TuesdayBlue #rhododendron Wednesday 6th May 2026 As ever, the first rose to…
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Garden Diary – It’s time for a Tulip explosion!
Monday 6th April 2026 Tulip ‘Little beauty’ are back for a second year 🌿💕🌷 And the super thing about them, is they’re a species variety so will come back every year, multiplying too 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 #magentamonday #tulips #bankholiday #eastermonday Tuesday 7th April 2026 Tulip ‘Slawa’ is a new one for me this year. I do love the bi-coloured blooms 🌿🧡🌷🩷🌿 Apparently we’re in for the warmest day of the year today 🌞 #TulipTuesday Wednesday 8th April 2026 The third of my miniature species Tulips came out in yesterday’s sunshine ☀️ She’s called ‘Little Princess’ & like the pink & white ones, she too comes back every year and multiplies 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 #tulips she…
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Garden Diary – Newts, green bugs & crazy bees!
It’s was a proper wildlife week, with the newts in full mating season chasing each other around the pond. Insects returning all around the garden, including the green shield bugs making an appearance. But most bizarre was a bee looking insect that was flying in such a crazy way. Darting from flower to flower with a most manic action. It also had its glossa (tongue) out as it was flying. I was quite pleased that I managed to video it and posted it on social media, tagging the ‘bumblebee trust’ to ask for help with identification. To my delight someone on instagram identified it as a ‘female hairy footed flower…
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Garden Diary – An excellent week, bulb planting & Adam Frost!
On Monday last week I started planting my spring bulbs. I was planning to do some jobs in the house but then the sun came out and was so warm that I just couldn’t resist getting outside. It really is one of my favourite jobs, and it fortunately comes at a time of year that I find quite depressing. It just feels like such an optimistic task, trusting that spring will come again and I’ll be here to enjoy it! Could the week get any better? Yes. Tuesday night was super exciting, as we went to see Adam Frost in Chester. I like lots of the well known gardeners and…
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Garden Diary – A week of surprises, not all good!
As I was walking down the garden, I just noticed some little pink flowers almost buried under the heucheras, I bent to take a look and it was a bunch of cyclamen flowers. I always forget about them, then get a lovely surprise. Last week was full of surprises. I was so lucky to spot a strawberry, in September! It’s been a funny year in the garden with the multiple heatwaves, how many? Who’d have thought that we would loose track of how many heatwaves we’ve had in one uk summer. The world’s gone mad! Talking of going mad, why can’t I grow Aubergines? My niece grows so many she…
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Garden Diary – I’d rather be in the garden!
We’ve reached that time of year where I spend as much time in the kitchen as I do in the garden, turning all the produce into ready meals for the freezer. Don’t get me wrong I do really enjoy cooking, but when the weather is lovely outside, I’d rather be in the garden! But with more ripe raspberries on a daily basis and a basket full of pears that ripen so quickly once they are picked. There is lots of baking to be done! When out picking yet more fruit the ‘gardeners mate’ shouted me over to see a butterfly he thought looked smaller than usual. I said, “oh it’s…
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Garden Diary – Bees, Cats, Frogs, Friends & Flowers
The first week of June has brought, Busy bees and sleepy cats, berries for breakfast and raindrop covered flowers. New plants and old ones and some spread accidentally between friends. I’m over the moon with the first peony in the garden, although it’s not strictly the first. I bought one a couple of years ago but as it resembled a stick, I accidentally trod on it and that was the end of that! So I made sure I bought this one at the right time of year. I was very impressed with this one from Crocus, both the size and the fact that it already had two buds on. Good…
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Garden Diary – Roses, Rescues & Wildlife
Last week saw more roses blooming, me rescuing a plant and a bee, and lots of wildlife viewings. Two more roses opened up their beautiful flowers after their buds have been promising loveliness for some time. One is a newish bush planted in a pot so that I can enjoy it on the patio, whilst the other is getting on a bit now, but still looking very healthy despite being bought when we were at our last house and so dug up to move here. Roses are resilient shrubs. Talking of resilient plants, I accidentally bought a new one. I popped into a shop and there was this pathetic looking…
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Garden Diary – Goldilocks weather didn’t last
Last week started with perfect Goldilocks gardening weather, sunny but not too hot, it meant I could get some well needed greenhouse jobs done. Mainly potting plants on into bigger pots. Because we’ve had such an amazing spring everything’s been growing like mad, and it’s hard to get the timing of potting on just right, even a week too late and the plants can suffer. Understandably so, as being in the greenhouse on a hot day makes me suffer too! As the week progressed it gradually got hotter and I tried my hardest (in vain) not to moan. I do struggle in the heat, it just zaps my energy. And…
