The front garden has grown up a lot since we last visited it, back at the beginning of May. June was missed as I was on holidays then and when I got back, work rather took over. And the greenery took over too.
In May, the view from the street was becoming lush, but now it is jungle-like.
The Teasels are magnificant, with many side-shoots so lots of flowers and seed heads for the goldfinches. The white campion is also flowering well and the Heleniums in the centre bed amongst the obelisk are at full height and a few of them have started to flower. A few. The thing is, it’s all very lush, but also all very GREEN.
The Heleniums have a mass of flower buds, but the lack of sun means not many have been tempted out.Some of the nasturtiums have also started flowering, but many more buds are staying closed.
The tomato plants have grown a little, and are about to form flowers. But unless we get more sun the chance of them turning into edible treats is small.
It’s not all gloom and rain. Harvest-wise, I’ve harvested a couple of kilo’s of broad beans and have just another another kilo to pick once they get big enough. I have been picking lettuce for a couple of months, and recently started picking strawberries. In fact it’s going to be a good year for strawberries. We have already picked 1.3kg at the allotment, and that’s barely touching the fruit that is there. They are a little tart this year, compared to last years super sweetness, and a friend and I have been wondering if this is due to a lack of sun to bring out the sugars?
Thinking of future crops, I tied in my pears to develop their structure. Pear Beth is now onto it’s 2nd espalier row, with Onward a bit behind with it’s first.
Our Strawberries are still green – I see them rotting away if the weather does not improve. I do like Nasturtium flowers – so cheerful and the leaves and flowers are good in salads too.
Try cutting back some of the strawberry leaves to let in more light. Of course, would be better if we just had more SUN!
Sunshine or lack of it is a real problem this year. Wonderful photographs on your blog make up for that. Speaking of Teazels I've been weeding out (millions), lots anyway, of small Teazel plants at the bottom end of my allotment, from 1 giant plant that grew from nowhere, last year?
Thanks Rooko. Teasels do rather self-sow a lot. I'm torn between pulling them out before they do, or leaving them so the goldfinches get some. I have a feeling the goldfinches will win… 😉