Naturally, I'm being ironic with the title of this post because while it used to be said that a British summer was 'three fine days and a thunderstorm', that seems like blissful predictability compared to our current climate. While we've had a disproportionate amount of wet, windy and cool weather here in the North Midlands, until very recently my father down in Hampshire was grumbling down the phone to me about water shortage.
We had our hottest day ever on July 1st 2015, if Wikipedia is to be believed (big 'if' there, I know) but the heatwave soon broke down and since St Swithan's Day (which was pleasantly warm and dry) we've had vivid thunderstorms worthy of a Hammer Horror movie, high winds, nights so cold rural areas were warned of the risk of frost (I used the need to incinerate some confidential waste as an excuse to light the fire) and such heavy showers on Saturday they suggested the arrival of the monsoon and onset of the rainy season.
The rain has at least kept the plants lush. In fact, against the odds, the garden appears to be thriving, though it's no surprise that the Astilbes - happy in damp soil and shade - are having a particularly good year.
The persistent heavy rain eventually wrought destruction on the chairs of our bistro-style patio chairs, bought quite a few years ago, renovated with a pot of Hammerite two summers ago, but finally succumbing to rust this year. Fortunately, a hinge on one had the good grace to fail when nobody was sitting on it, leaving the seat hanging at an odd angle by way of warning, so we were spared the indignity of having it snap under us and given a cast iron (sorry...) excuse to get a new set.
The table from the old set makes a great place to display the sarracenia collection safely above slug and snail attack. I may treat myself to some new saucer pots for them, in place of green but not-so-chic plastic trifle dishes they're sitting in for now. They prefer to be outside in the summer, where their colours develop better and they make sturdier growth than in the greenhouse. Although they have taken a battering from the high winds and heavy rain in the last few days, they are still feeding happily...
