Growing our own

Although the veg plot isn't as productive yet as I'd hoped (mostly because much of it still needs to be cleared of weeds), we're doing not too badly so far.  The lettuces are still going strong, there are more gooseberries than I can reasonably deal with, and the blackcurrant bush that was fleeced up against bird attack has yielded three jars of jam.  There are broad beans ready to pick, and the first courgette is fattening up.  The leeks need to be pricked out (when I can find somewhere to put them), and I'm hoping that the garlic and shallots aren't too put out by the potatoes, obviously left over from last year, that are sprouting among them.  The runner beans are starting to flower.  A stiff breeze earlier this week has knocked down some of the cooking apples but there are plenty more; there are fewer eaters this year.  Lots of plums, though, and I need to thin them and prune the tree.

Much more exuberant

We're still doing well with cut flowers too.  There are still roses available, and lots of pinks.  A jugful of pinks, oregano and sidalcea with variegated dogwood foliage was very tasteful but not necessarily in a good way; they would have made nice bridal flowers but were a bit too pale.  The first dahlia flowers are now out, however, and a few orange dahlias with Crocosmia 'Lucifer' and purple salpiglossis is making a much more exuberant arrangement.

The windowbox has been planted up with the leftover salpiglossis and some red-foliaged amaranthus, around a couple of small pale pink fuchsia plants; it's a bit sparse but it'll do.  The pots on the patio are doing quite nicely; they're a mix of ricinus (all flowering, remarkably, although I put them in as foliage plants), cosmos, more salpiglossis, the amaranthus and various fillers including a phygelius, a crimson-flowered agyranthemum rescued from the garden centre at the back end of last year and overwintered in the greenhouse, the purple osteospermum, a purple sedum, some bidens which is making a splendid show, and the phormiums for structure.  The big pot at the bottom of the garden is also still doing very well.  The sweet peas have not flourished, however; Tutankhamun is hanging on in there quite well but only one other plant, a purple bicolour, has survived.

The biennials have been sown in the greenhouse: sweet william, forget-me-nots, bellis and pansies, and some cineraria in the cooler situation of the kitchen windowsill.  All are starting to germinate except the pansies, which as a genus seem to have taken a dislike to me.

The area over by the hedge is a bit of a disaster, seriously overgrown with geraniums and long grass, but the butterflies seem to like it; there was a comma in there yesterday, also a tortoiseshell and what I think was a small skipper.  Also in there was a very vociferous baby blackbird which seemed to have lost its mum; when I had lunch out on the bench it came and joined me for a bit, then went off next door.  I hope mum was just having a siesta, but it did seem to be on its own for a long time.  Our usual hen blackbird is still feeding a youngster, and there are still young sparrows about, but the birds have mostly stopped singing so I think most of the nesting is now done.  A robin appears from time to time, and a linnet came for a drink today.  Our lame woodpigeon has also returned; he hasn't been about for a while (we think he had too many competitors to chase off) so it was nice to see him back.  The other pigeons seem mostly to have dispersed, although there's a persistent individual that comes to the patio for food quite a lot.

The weather has been on the cool side, with some showers and a fresh breeze earlier in the week; one night I put the tender plants back into the greenhouse to be on the safe side.  There has been warm sun for the past couple of days, however; a little more of that would be welcome.