GARDENER'S WORD

Now it is July, I am reaping the benefits of my garden.  The tomatoes are ripening, the pick-and-come-again type lettuce are wonderful.  The strawberries, though not abundant, are delicious.  The herbs are growing well and faster than I can eat them.   I am still awaiting the runner beans to appear although there are plenty of flowers. I had a tetanus jab last week.  It's a must for gardeners as tetanus is carried in the soil.  Falling over near a rose got me good and skewered and that was a very sharp reminder to get my tetanus jab redone! 

The other night, at midnight, two hedgehogs visited the grass area in front of my bungalow.  These little creatures are excellent for keeping slugs at bay so they can come around the back and visit my garden any time - just don't bring your fleas with you, please!

You might have seen the post on this website where I showed how I make hanging baskets.  We are now into July which is the peak time in the garden, I think.  Here are the hanging baskets in all their glory.  I have recently, however, found it necessary to clip back some of the violas and petunias and they were trying to take over the show.  Can't have that, girls.

My roses are coming along famously, despite the wind and lack of rain.  Princess Alexandra of Kent, a relatively new rose to the David Austin collection, is just brilliant.  Although it is a bush rose, it could, by the look of it, be trained as a short climber.  The white clematis, Arctic Queen, is only a short specimen, reaching about 6ft in all. However, the flowers, as you can see by the photo below, are as big as my hand.