Dear Diary ~ Late July 2021

 

Here we are already at the end of July and thoughts turning to late summer and the autumn. I'm still dithering over my spring bulb order and need to make a final decision and get it off as soon as possible. I will probably order the majority of my bulbs from Peter Nyssen and a few odds and ends from Farmer Gracy.  Last year I ordered some narcissus bulbs from the latter and they turned out to be the plumpest narcissus bulbs I've ever seen. I'm also enjoying leafing through the tempting catalogue that you can pages from as Sarah Raven's  catalogues are always brimming with positively beautiful colourful combinations. 

Just a brief post today mainly for my personal records. A lull from full on seed sowing for now but the seed compost will come out again in September. I pricked out some 'Sooty' sweet william seedlings today which were sown at the back end of June and there is another batch of a different variety that are still to small to prick out.  I may fit in for some sowing more salad seeds though. We are now eating French beans, which were just morphing from flower to bean just over ten days ago or so, some rather delicious beetroots and cherry tomatoes. I've not grown my own tomatoes from seed for a while now but treat myself each year to some small plug plants from the excellent Simpsons Seeds. They offer a wide range of tomato varieties in all colours and sizes and their plug plants are always well packaged, happy and healthy. They also stock other vegetable plant plugs.We have just enjoy the third harvest of 'Charlotte' potatoes grown in bags this year. Each harvest has been enough for two meals and there are probably another couple of harvests still waiting. Not necessarily a cheap option but they have been delicious.  My shallots need lifting - they looked most promising in their early days but are not looking so brilliant now. The proof will be in the lifting sometime this week. 

We have had a fair bit of rain this week which the garden needed after the recent heatwave. Unfortunately there were two intense cloudbursts involved which did flatten some plants but no long lasting damage done.

Not much in the way of other news. I'm expecting an exciting delivery in the post next week but more of that next time round. The weather for the last week or so has been on the wet and cool side so I've not been out there in the garden as much as I would have liked to. Just in the nick of time we gave the new 'Bathsheba' roses a specific rose granular feed this afternoon. Their second flower flush is just starting with one or two flowers already out and plenty of buds to come. That's it for today - short and sweet. Next time I hope to say that I've ordered those bulbs. Does any one else dither just trying to decide what to include in their bulb order.