At the End of an Endless Summer?

Hello again!  Is there anybody there?

It's a very long time since I last wrote a gardening blog, not least because a couple of hours a day has been devoted to keeping the garden and allotment alive through the drought - yes drought, in North Staffordshire!  As if my arms aren't long enough, I've been hauling a couple of 12 litre cans around doing careful and thorough watering of everything that has needed it in the garden and down on the allotment.  That's being remedied right now with some spectacularly heavy showers although it's surprising how dry the ground still is a few centimetres down, as I found while splitting and moving some of my hellebores yesterday.

The other reason this blog has been neglected is that there's a new one for younger readers, staring Sonning Bear, the little teddy we rescued from a tree by the Thames on our travels last year.  You can read what he's been up to at:  https://bearonaboat.blogspot.com/

So, how are things in the garden?  Last year, it was quite badly neglected while we did our narrowboat odyssey to Godalming and back.  This year, as we've stayed at home much more, it's looking much tidier and a great deal more productive.  Here are some photos...

A good idea proved to be moving the solar fountain out of the herb garden and onto the patio, where we could see and hear it better than in it's old spot.  This has also made it easier to reach and maintain the roses in the herb garden, which have put on a good amount of extra growth this year, due to getting regular care and watering.

The last of the lilies are now in flower nearby.  It has been a superb year for them, despite the appearance of the usual lily beetles.  Being at home, we have stayed on top of the squishing where they are concerned and were rewarded with some fabulous and fragrant blooms throughout July:

 A mistake - at least in the short-term - was deciding to treat myself to some new (expensive) roses for the front garden early in June.  The front garden is always full of colour throughout the spring but gets rather dull in late summer, once the Alchemilla mollis starts to look dusty.

The plan was therefore to take some big chunks of that out and plant roses in the gaps.  I bought six of those gorgeous David Austin shrub roses.  They looked so nice, I treated myself to three more.  It was forecast to rain heavily that weekend.  It didn't - in fact, it didn't rain like it meant it until yesterday!  The roses are still rather short to show up well but, when they have reached their proper height and are all in flower again, they should add some much-needed colour.  The two looking best right now are Lady Hamilton and Jubilee Celebration.

 Lady of Shalot and Queen of Sweden are also looking gorgeous.

Anyway, that's all for today's update.  There will be more soon, including a proper look at the veg plot and a look at some of this year's surprising harvest, including a great crop of hazelnuts and even fresh figs!