July has been a very strange month weather wise, first of all cold with torrential rain each day which caused flooding in the lowest part of the garden, then a heat wave with temperatures up at 31C, far too hot for me, I felt I was melting!. We now have a cooler spell, yesterday with thunder and lightning, I came in when that started, it was followed by torrential rain and I decided that I had done enough gardening for one day. The plants have coped remarkably well through all this and the weeds have also coped too well, I’m still pulling them out. I’ve had a lot of cutting back and propping up to do after a storm last weekend, when a lot got flattened. Colour in the garden hasn’t stopped at all, the roses are having a rest for a while, but other plants have carried on flowering, it has been one wave after another, so I’ll just show you some long views of how the garden is looking now.
The view from down by the greenhouse and the field, up behind the dead oak looking towards the pergola. This is the part of the garden which now gets flooded each time there is torrential rain. The silver birch and lots of other plants are now dead, but I think I will keep the silver birch and plant a clematis up it, planting it further back towards the hedge where it stays drier. This is where the daylilies have done ever so well, maybe I could move some more to here.
A view you have seen many times before with C. Lucifer strutting his stuff alongside Acanthus mollis. Phormium Yellow wave on the left is getting swallowed up, the miscanthus will have to be sorted.
Planting on the left side of the entrance to the pergola all seems to be rather blue/purple at the moment. The clematis Perle d’Azure is climbing up rosa Mme Alfred Carrierre, but she is having a rest at the moemnt. A buddlia is to the left of the lacecap hydrangea Blue Wave which has Crocosmia Solfaterre at its feet and should be in flower by next week.
This is the drier end of the bog garden, almost looking back to the house. The astilbes and hosta have done really well, as have all the other plants in the bog garden.
Looking towards the house from the meadow.
Just a bit further on from the last couple of photos and looking towards the back garden with the rockery where the new plants have now filled out.
Looking back the other way.
Looking back towards the pond from the house, the meadow is getting quite long now, not many flowers to be seen, just lots of blue from self heal and white from clover. It is now the turn for all the different grasses to flower. Another month and it will all be cut back to being a lawn one more.
Looking back across the meadow to the chinese ginger jar and Stipa gigantea. This is the best year yet for the Stipa, it has been absolutely wonderful, it has obviously liked our perculiar weather.
The view from the back door towards the back corner of the garden.
The colour of the left hand hydrangea is still changing, it is taking such a long time to change from pink to blue. Yes, that is another Stipa gigantea behind the now defunct bar b que, I liked the other so much so planted this one so that the sun always shines through it and I can see it from the house, I don’t have to go for a walk to see it!
Unlike the one on the right which changed almost straight away when it was planted here many years ago. The day lilies on the rockery make a nice contrast.
Agapanthus will soon be out in the front driveway border along with kniphofia, I’m beginning to plant these in other parts of the garden to prolong the flowering in various beds for the whole of August, in the meantime I will enjoy all the colour that is in all the borders at the moment, July is certainly a colourful month.
I am sorry to hear you lost the silver birch Pauline. They are such lovely trees. Despite the ups and downs of the weather, your garden is looking very beautiful. May I ask, why is the new growth on the Chinese ginger jar yellow?
I wasn’t surprised when I saw all the water Denise, that the silver birch died, they do like well drained soil, but I have more in the driveway border. The box is a yellow leaved variety which I have always cut back hard into the old growth which is green. Derek cut it this year and didn’t cut it back as far as I do, so he left a lot more yellow at the time of shaping, it will eventually turn dark green.
Your garden is looking wonderful, Pauline, despite the unusual weather. We’ve beaten weather records over here too. A few weeks ago, we hit a godawful 117F degrees. That’s over 47C!! It was nasty, and sure enough, more than a hundred people died heat related deaths. Thankfully, the garden has more or less recovered, although some plants crisped up significantly. It will reach 100F tomorrow, which, I suppose, is comparatively balmy. But no, to a heat shy Swede, 1oo is terrible, too.
Anna, I think the whole world is suffering from extremes of weather, there seem to be disasters every day on the news, floods, gales, fires etc. Being surrounded by water as we are, it should keep us warmer in winter and cooler in summer, but all that has changed recently over the past few years.
July has been a mixed bag for sure. So many lovely blooms, I do like the blues!xxx
It has been a strange month hasn’t it Dina, good in a way that it is over. I love all my blue flowers, they seem to go with every other colour.x