What I’m Doing This Week: Well, its been a while hasn’t it! Its been just over a month since I’ve shared a garden update and boy oh boy has a lot happened since then – the hottest of heatwaves continued to rage on and the garden is just about recovering now! I really thought we’d lost a lot but after some good rain recently its perked right back up again.
In the last update I shared our Salvia ‘Amistad’ alongside some Helenium ‘Red Army’, however what I failed to share are the Rudbeckia sat right next to them. Rudbeckia don’t seem to be loved by everyone but they’re certainly loved by us! What do you think, are you a fan or not?
While I said earlier that the garden is recovering, there are clear signs that the end of Summer is nearly with us…and even more so that Autumn is round the corner. This heat has done some crazy things to the garden and so many trees are crispy and brown already – global warming has a lot to answer for! There are a few things that are starting to turn slightly earlier than they usually would and Sunflowers are falling victim to just that.
I’ve enjoyed our sunflowers this year but they don’t seem to have had quite the same bang as they usually do. However, the ones that we have had have been sensational.
Rather than some of the huge headed varieties such as Russian Giant, this year we’ve grown a lot more multiheaded varieties
The great thing about growing these is that its much easier to snip a few off to bring indoors, whilst leaving the plant still looking good outside! I think next year we’ll perhaps grow a variety of both sorts as I’ve missed being able to hold up the huge ones by my head as a size comparison!!
In the last update at the start of August I shared our amazing Cafe Au Lait dahlia and how much I’d fallen head over heels for it. Well, I’m now reporting a new kid on the block in the form of Caribbean Fantasy – think Cafe Au Lait, but imagine it being dipped in dusky pinks and reds…wow!
In other news…? I wanted to share with you that a previous guest on the podcast has a brand new book out! Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to talk to Charles Dowding all about no dig and we might have mentioned his upcoming book…(you can listen here if you haven’t already!)
Charles’ book, aptly named ‘No Dig’ is set to become the new bible for the growing method and is one that any grower, home based or professional, will enjoy. The book is out now from DK books and is available in all good bookshops.
That’s it from me, have a great week and I’ll be back next week (hopefully!) with more.
View From The Potting Bench 