How is your garden growing?

[Daisy]

After our recent heatwave, I'm wondering what has happened in everybody's garden.

I cut the lawn today for the first time in ages - it was very long in places and very dead in others!


I've never seen so many apples on our trees - or so many windfalls underneath them, but they are much smaller than usual. My little clump of variegated bamboo has done well, and the clump of phlox is still flowering its heart out. The saskia daisies are all but over, but a climbing rose has suddenly grown new shoots and had buds on it again.

The biggest surprise is a hellebore I planted in spring - it's is in full flower. If it thinks this is winter, it's in for a shock when winter arrives!!!

[Nana]

It makes you wonder how the lawn ever grows & becomes green again Daisy. We need to weed & feed our lawns as there's more weeds than grass now. Can you remember I said I'd risk it & cut the lilac right back? Not a sign of green leaf. Thought I'd killed it. Two weeks ago the first bud. Now it's full of new growth, even stronger & healthier than before. Phew.

This year I decided to let one bit of garden grow wild. Butterflies love it. Poppies red & pale mauve. There's even cornflowers too. My favourite colour. We have two small 'bug hotels' which hang from the fence posts. Nearly all the hollow bamboo bits are plugged up by insects. I love nature.

[Oma]

My Dahlias are doing ok and the Begonias but all the rest are looking shabby , the pinks were a riot of colour but then they started to go over very quick , My little Apple tree is doing wonderful we have loads of good sized Apples on ,
Nana did you notice the grass went yellow and almost died but weeds stayed lovely and green and thrived

[Mimi]

Our lawn out the front is a terrible condition Last year OH use a scarifier on it and it never recovered even though he reseeded it and now what with the hot dry summer it resembles hay now .Any rain we have had has made no difference to it as we haven’t had enough. On the other hand the lawn in the back garden is sheltered from the wind and only gets the sun late in the afternoon so it has remained green and lush.
All the plants in pots on the patio have done extremely well as to have the flower beds. We have had an abundance of strawberries, potatoes and tomatoes. Even now the potatoes we planted in containers three weeks ago are doing really well. These are supposed to be ready to eat for Christmas ! We have also seen a huge rise in butterflies and bees in the garden since I planted some sea holly and a buddleia ( small type for planters ) in a planter.

[Plantaholic]

Our grass is recovering well, I cut the phlox heads off as I am going away tomorrow. Cosmos starting to flower and the geraniums in the border are looking good. The trailing petunias loved the heat but are looking a bit sorry for themselves, they don't like the rain. I have had a lovely display of Alstroemerias, I planted them last year and they came through the hard frosts and have been flowering since June. It was an experiment to see if they would survive the winter, there are still more flowers to come, might get some more. The old apple trees have lots of very small apples and they are already falling off, the muntjac deer are grazing on them. No apples on the young trees, their blossom was hit by the frost. We have had lots of bees of different sorts, I have sea holly, they love it but very short supply of butterflies.

[Daisy]

Nana - I'm so pleased your lilac has rejuvenated itself - it was a good decision to cut it back.

We've got lots of wild places in our garden - unkempt would be a better word where OH dumps lumps of wood to 'season' and then doesn't get round to turning them. We get loads of beetles etc in those corners, but I'd love a wild flower meadow area. I planted two buddleias in the front garden which I'm trying to establish as bee and butterfly friendly. They also like the sedum late summer/early autumn.

It's amazing how grass recovers, but I certainly need an autumn feed on ours this year. The dry weather has knocked the buttercup weeds back, but there are plenty of others thriving where the grass has withered. I suppose the weeds have got deeper roots and broader leaves to hang on to any water.

[Glammanana]

Our back lawn has recovered somewhat except for the edges that run up along the fence it looks quite haylike at the minute.
We have had a really good crop of potatoes and they where wonderful,more have been planted in time for x--- time.
My trailing pertunia's in the front haging baskets are also on their last,they have not recovered from the wind and rain a few nights ago,I have deadheaded them to make them look a wee bit more presentable and hope they pick up but I think I will have to replant the basket with new plants.
Plant will the petunia's keep for replanting next year or are they just for the duration of them looking good.?

[Enfys]

Things aren’t too bad. The lawn is much greener now, will probably need a cut soon. I deliberately didn’t do any hanging baskets, pots etc this year, apart from two big pots of geraniums which are looking really good. I think we’ve lost an azalea in the front garden and a couple of pieris in the back border were scorched by the sun although I think they’ll be ok. We dont grow veggies any more, everything is very low maintenance. We also have a “wild” bit right at the bottom of the garden, lots of wild flowers (weeds) but the bees and butterflies seem to like it there.

[Plantaholic]

Glamm, petunias are annuals I am afraid. I think mine will be over their best when I get back from holiday as no one will dead head them.

[Daisy]

We had a lot of rain yesterday, and today the lawn looks positively shaggy (apart from the bald bits!). I'll have to cut it again tomorrow if it's dry.

But the rest of the garden is looking better for a good soaking, so I won't grumble!

[Nana]

I did notice Oma. OH got two boxes of weed & feed today. I'm expecting two dead areas where there was once two lawns. The weeds far outnumber grass. Over the last few days OH has taken the opportunity to paint the fences & one of the two sheds. Only one fence & shed to go, then they're protected for winter.

You ladies are clever knowing the names of everything.

[Gemini]

The lawn has recovered well from the long dry spell, and could do with cutting again.
The big hanging basket at the front became a casualty of the storm a couple of weeks ago. The small plants like lobelia haven't fared so well in tubs this year despite plenty of watering. The ones on my mum's front border look lovely though,.
OH grows tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse and cherry tomatoes in 2 hanging baskets in the back garden. We have no shortage of any of those.
The rose we planted when OH's cat died a few yeas ago has masses of beautiful blooms, but there is not much other colour in the garden right now. I think the apple tree had forgiven us for having it pruned January of last year, and there are apples up there, and several fallen off already.

[Glammanana]

Glamm, petunias are annuals I am afraid. I think mine will be over their best when I get back from holiday as no one will dead head them.

Thanks for that Plant,I am going to take them down this week-end then and take a trip to the garden centre with John.
I must say the petunia's this year have been amazing they grew right out and dropped down the front of the wall giving a fabulous display I have entered this years garden competion with the HA just for front garden only and I may be lucky to get a mention as the basket was massive and lovely cerise/white colours.

[Gemini]

I think petunias are lovely, especially the trailing varieties.

[Qwerty]

We have done ok this year despite little rain apart from the lawn , it’s beginning to green up in patches , the hanging baskets have been a disappointment this year begonias wontvget them this year will go back to lovely petunias , but my geraniums are stunning, and as I showed earlier gd stone sink is beautiful