My English August Garden.

Are you still having heat wave?

We're over in Australia where it is winter, but it's like a typical English summer. 

We've left our garden unattented with no requests to water or anything as I feel it will be a pointless exercise.

Our Bougainvillaea hedge (to be) thrives in dry and warm/hot conditions and everything else will come back eventually, but I'm not holding out too much luck for the lawn, at least I won't have to mow it on our return.

How's your garden growing?

Herbs

Don't expect the lawn to survive much longer

Tomatoes, chillis, peppers and chard

Expect these sunflowers will be in full bloom soon

Peas and beans

 Rhubarb 

My August English Garden 2021

There's been a lot of planning in the garden and the house. We're getting a new kitchen, extending the back of the house, building new sheds and creating an allotment. It's a small patch of land and with our dining room already full to the brim with furniture, we're trying to work out in which order to do the jobs, so we can still function in and outside the house. 

We want to replace the conservatory, that's 24 years old, with one that covers the back of the house.

I think new shed first, then we can use the old one for storage.

In the meantime I've planted more crops, carrots, onions, potatoes and turnips. I've also sown some peas, beans and sweet peas to 'over winter into a tangled mess' as advised by Monty Don. I did it last year and it worked well.

Winter crops of potatoes and onions already poking through the soil.

Made a cloche to try and keep the cabbage white butterflies out the way. Next year I'll be planting sacrificial marigolds and nasturtiums. I've also been gifted beans, cauliflower and beetroot from a friend and the neighbour gave me some sweet blackberries.

It's great planting lettuce and watching it grow, literally over night. It would be nice to have a few more tomato plants but I was late getting them with not getting back from Dubai until mid June. 

I've bought plants now for my pots and hanging baskets that were on sale in the garden centre and DIY store and the cold frame has been reassembled so I can put them in there over winter.

I've finally realised that I really do need to label everything, more so because I've ventured into other parts of the garden and I caught Peter digging over an area where I'd planted carrots.

I'm still enjoying sitting out in the garden and in the shed if it's raining (although the cat has taken over that spot for now). And it's nice sitting out in the evenings with the garden lit up. The rose bush is in it's second bloom and there are still scented sweet peas to be picked.