Everything's looking good

This is a close up of the herb Tree Spinach, which I just adore for the vibrant colour of the new leaves. My Thyme, Oregano, Pennyroyal and Basil are all now in flower and there are buds on the Milk Thistle and Mint.

I pricked out the Wallflowers today - very sturdy little seeds - and sowed two more types of Aquilegia and Chives. I had my own Tomatoes and Spring Onions with my lunch and picked my first ripe Alpine Strawberry of the season - delicious.

There are lovely fat buds on my Fuchsia Happy Wedding Day and since I last wrote Galtonia candicans, Silene Jack Flash, Crocosmia George Davidson, Cala Lily, Heliotrope Hybrid Marine and Lily Arena have all come into flower.

I moved some of the pots around again today to make a bit more room and try out different combinations. For example the Freesias had finished so these were replaced with pots of Heliotrope, whose dark leaves and deep purple flowers look good in front of the lighter green foliage of the Agapantus and Galtonia.

Georgie

Sunshine and showers

I've spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend but I don't feel that I've achieved very much. These are my first ripe Chillies of the season and I've been nibbling Tomatoes as I pottered. I planted out a few more Basil Purple Ruffles plants into the sunny border to replace the Garlic Mustard which had run to seed. I potted up the Tree Spinach into 10" pots and sowed more Spring Onions, Greek Cress and Radish.

I cut the lawn and tidied up the edges and did a fair bit of pruning back and dead-heading. I collected seeds from Honesty, Chives, Hesperis, Garlic Mustard and Aquilegia, sowing some for myself and saving the rest for seed swaps. I also sowed some more Lady's Bedstraw and Arnica as there was no sign of germination from the seeds sown in May.

Georgie

Scented Lilies now in bloom

The first of my scented Lilies are flowering. The one pictured is 'White Heaven', which I bought last year, and the other one out is 'Nipon'. Also out this week are blue Laurentia, Garlic Chives and Fuchsia Carmel Blue. It's all looking very colourful.

The garden is still full of bees who are enjoying the Jasmine, Lavender and Fuchsias in particular. I've spotted on painted lady butterfly and a few small and large whites but no other species. There are plenty of hoverflies around too, but precious few ladybirds.

I'm picking a few Tomatoes each day, still getting the odd Strawberry and the Chillies are getting bigger with a number now ripe. The Cucumbers are very slow and there is no sign of any ripe Physallis fruits yet. The French Beans are climbing well but there is no sign of any flowers yet. Nearly all of the herbs continue to flourish with the exception of Basil Purple Ruffles which remains tiny and weak looking.

The Wallflower seeds I planted at the weekend have germinated already so they'll need pricking out soon. I must check through my seed boxes because I'm sure there are other things I should have sown but have forgotten about!

Georgie

Tadpole update etc

Well the tadpoles are alive and seemingly well although as you can see from the photo they still have no sign of any back legs. I've heard that sometimes they don't develop in the first year and this looks increasingly likely. I really hope they do though because I think it's most unlikely that they will survive the winter in the water feature. I'll have to seek some advice from a nature forum.

This weekend I sowed some Wallflower seeds to grow with my Tulips. I love the smell of Wallflowers and I just hope they don't go all leggy and floppy like the last lot I tried.

I've potted up my scented Pelargoniums into 10" pots, taken some Lavender cuttings and planted Fuchia Devon Dumling and Royal Mosaic into hanging baskets.

Georgie

Chillies etc

I am so pleased with my Chillies this year. Pictured is a close up of 'Thai Hot' which I am growing on the kitchen windowsill alongside a yellow one, variety unknown, which has three fruits ripening. In the garden, 'Trifetti' and 'Sicily' are also thriving and producing lots of fruit. We've had a lot of rain this week but not much sunshine so whilst the other edibles are coming along nicely, ripening is taking longer than expected. So I'm only picking the odd few Strawberries and Tomatoes at the moment and the Cucumbers are still tiny.

I've got Agapanthus, Galtonia Viridiflora, Nicotiana and Borage in flower and new into bud this week are Nasturtium Milkmaid, Heliotrope and Laurentia. My Oriental Lilies are still not out, nor is Fuchsia Carmel Blue or Crocosmia George Davidson. The Jasmine still smells gorgeous every night though, so that sees me through.

Georgie

Between the showers

Well today we have had some much needed rain but I have managed to squeeze in a few jobs between the showers. I took a few photographs including this one of Fuchsia Royal Mosaic which was one of my free plug plants from J Parkers. They are not a company I would normally use but the free offer (not even any P&P to pay) was too good to miss. All three plants are doing well.

I've had to reorganise the veg pots because some things like the Physallis are trying to take over the garden! With a bit of juggling around I've managed to give them a bit more room and moving things around afforded me the opportunity for a bit of tidying up, tying in and dead leaf removal.

The Hyssop, Purple Basil, Cuckoo Flower and Swan River Daisies were all potted on into 5" pots and I pricked out the seedlings of the ornamental grass, Eragrostis.

I'm still waiting for my oriental Lilies to flower but in the meantime the garden is full of the heady scent of Jasmine and (when you get close to them) Freesias.

Georgie