I must confess that I haven't spent an awful lot of time in the garden this year, whether it be for work or for pleasure. The constant rainy weather has meant that neither the sun shade nor the paddling pool have enjoyed an airing this summer, and I'm not sure they will going forwards. Until last week the lawn was ridiculously overgrown, and it was all I could manage to get it cut before a strimmer would have been necessary. It took me ages to mow, but looks so much better for it. I'll just overlook the bare patch beneath swing-ball!
I did replace many of the plants which had succumbed to the extreme cold last winter, so at least the border around the seating area looks much more pleasing to the eye. Most of the plants have finished flowering now and the purple lavender will need cutting back before much longer. The white lavender, which I grew from seed, has established itself nicely, and so I might need to split it again in the spring. The Hydrangea is just beginning to flower, and will probably be the last of any colour I get in the garden this year.
My favourite little lemon trees continue to surprise me. One of them is much larger than the other, but they are both growing new leaves and I am excited to see whether or not they will produce blossom some time during the next few years. I planted them during the first lockdown, and I believe it can take around five years for them to produce fruit. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, so watch this space. You can see one of the apple trees, which I planted at the same time, next to the bird feeder in the top photograph.
Having fully intended to leave the raised bed completely empty this year, I found three incredibly sad looking tomato plants in a cupboard at work, which someone had forgotten about, and I could not bear to see them simply thrown away. Somehow, I managed to revive them and I planted them out, not expecting them to come to much, but they are huge, and now appear to be producing a decent amount of fruit. They just need some more sunshine to help them to ripen.
With the tomatoes on one side, the other half of the bed was looking rather bare, and so I picked up a very inexpensive tray of sweetcorn while I was at the supermarket, for Lily to plant just as a bit of an experiment. I suspect we were a little late in planting them, but they appear to be growing well, so we will just have wait and see if we get any results.
On sunny days, the cats both enjoy being outside. Boo, especially, has a habit of sitting beneath swing-ball, while Lily is knocking the ball around at ridiculous speed. Luckily, the ball cannot reach him, but he doesn't even flinch! And talking of cats, next week Mog has an appointment for an x-ray, just to rule out anything untoward. Naturally, booking her in for this incredibly expensive procedure has resulted in her having no symptoms whatsoever for the last few days! :)
J. X
