GARDENER'S WORD

It's a little while since I posted anything as there has been little to do in the garden except for dead-heading and picking Wisley Magic runner beans and James Grieve apples as they grow and ripen.  The lawn has required little cutting as the extensive dry period put a halt to the grass, although now we are back to normal UK summer weather: sun, cloud, and rain.  During the prolonged sunny period, a friend and I had a little outing to Cliffe Castle Museum and surrounding gardens in Keighley.  The grounds are beautiful with extensive lawns and mature trees.  The cafe area is oustanding in that it is part of a super-large conservatory with a view over the gardens.  We didn't venture into the museum itself as we had been there not so long ago, but I will post one or two photos of that time.  Cliffe Castle gardens and cafe/conservatory   Cliffe Castle Museum (official website - external link)  Cliffe Castle cafe straight ahead, conservatory...

I watched Monty Don on Gardener's World the other day and he showed how two branches on an apple tree had ripped from the trunk under the weight of its fruit.  He had to cut off the entire branches.  That spurred me into action because my miniature James Grieve apple tree is also heavily laden with apples this year and I had been contemplating devising some way of supporting the thin but heavy branches.  Anyway, it would have been nice if I'd had some of those metal supports that look like shepherds' crooks which I could have neatly tucked under the branches, but I don't so I did the best I could with bamboo canes and soft garden twine.  I think, hope, it will do the trick until the apples can be harvested.  I have tried to keep the fruit from touching the canes as I don't want them banging around and bruised should a strong breeze blow up.  I've had to stake the whole tree and there are a few pounds of apples on it.  Branches supported on Jame...

For several years I have grown the same Cherry Red Phlox in my garden and every year it gives a good display of flowers.  Pretty as they are, they are somewhat wasted if the fragrance cannot be appreciated.  I originally bought one plant (they are perennials) which I divided a few years ago and they grow really well, so now I have an abundance of flowers, a number of which I have cut and brought indoors. Their perfume is quite heady. Cherry Red phlox Cherry Red phlox and September Charm Japanese anemone, 2015. 

Some people might consider the United Kingdom weather as being highly erratic, and they would be right.  However, as most of us realise, people across the world have been experiencing weird weather for some time.  After a long spell of exceptionally dry weather, the UK might be getting back to the summer norm with a mixture of sunshine and rain.  A couple of weeks ago, in the middle of a long dry spell, we had a day when rain came down heavily with weather-forecasters warning of the possibility of floods, and then we were back to dry. While rain can be a nuisance at times, especially for those on summer holiday, the drought has caused problems nationwide and not just for farmers but for gardeners too, of course.  It was only when I recently watched an episode of the BBC's 'Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey' (available on DVD) that I had a clearer idea of what is going on.  Right over our UK heads, two vast rotating...