A bit wild

Another long holiday away - and the inevitable catching up afterwards.  May always brings on a burst of growth, and the garden was a bit wild by the time we got back, with tall weed grasses in full flower; I've got a lot of the stems picked and put in the green recycling bin before they can set seed, but there's still more to do, not to mention all the other things that have got a bit out of hand (like that pink geranium that is still trying to take over). 

The weather had been a bit wild too; warm and sunny weather at the end of May, followed by a very windy and chilly spell with some rain.  Coming back from Crete at this stage was something of a shock, and we did turn the heating back on for an evening or two, although the Cretan weather had also been unseasonably wet and windy at times (even a brief hail shower!).  Since then we've had some very hot and sunny weather, which ended abruptly last week - literally, one day I was drinking tea to cool down, the next day I was drinking tea to warm up while working outside.  Although it felt so much cooler, temperatures were actually nearer normal.  Today we have finally had rain, much needed after the heat; the garden has been very dry and plants in pots have been flagging.

The holly branch

The wind in early June knocked things about a bit.  The broad beans - despite my best intentions, not properly staked - are all over the place, and a very large branch fell out of the holly tree on top of the rose R. dupontii; I had been considering removing the rose anyway as it's in a very shady spot and not doing well, but this might force my hand!  The holly branch is still awaiting removal; I'm gradually cutting it up (the photo was taken after a lot of the top growth had been removed).  There are other dead or weak branches in the tree that need dealing with, but they will have to wait.

The big ash tree - a bit thin

Next door's ash tree, photographed on the same day

Some things did better than expected in our absence.  The little fig plant with its damaged roots has tentatively put out a few leaves, so seems to be settling into its new home, and the plum tree, which had been looking reluctant to leaf up, has come round (although the crop will be tiny this year, probably because of the spring frost).  A number of cabbage, kale, broccoli and Brussels sprout seedlings that I planted out before we left and carefully covered with netting or fleece are doing fine, and the four dahlias don't seem to have suffered from being planted out rather earlier than they really should have been.  I've taken cuttings from them, and they too are doing well.  The peony 'Sarah Bernhardt' has put on quite a good show and doesn't seem to have been too badly knocked around by the wind, and the Nigella damascena (Love-in-a-mist) by the drive flowered well (now superseded by some candytuft).  There have been failures, such as the row of peas sown before we went away (complete no-show). The biggest worry, however, is that the foliage of the big ash tree at the bottom of the garden - actually in the field behind us, immediately beyond the boundary fence - is looking very thin; it's an old tree and has had dead wood in it for some years now, but I think the new growth from the bottom of the trunk is taking over and draining the nutrients from the main trunk.  It's the main focal point of the whole garden and would pose a bit of a problem if it died - especially as it's not ours so we couldn't do anything about it.

Nigella damascena

Some sort of order has returned to the greenhouse now that the tomatoes have been put in grow-bags and the aubergines potted on; as the weather hadn't warmed up properly before we left for our holiday I delayed sowing the courgettes and beans, and they are now germinating nicely in there, along with some zinnia seeds.  Next year I must remember not to sow zinnias and the like too early; they grow fast and do better if sown after the warm weather starts.

The birds are busy with nests and youngsters.  The blackbirds are very tolerant of my presence; yesterday I was picking one side of the big gooseberry bush while the female was picking the other side, and I think one of them has been in the greenhouse investigating the grow-bags as some of the compost had been pulled out.  The sparrows and starlings are proliferating well.  The nestbox on the summerhouse wall was askew when we came back (had a cat been at it?) but there are young bluetits around so I'm hoping that they escaped unharmed.  A pair of house martins have attempted to nest under our roof on the east gable, but the nest looks incomplete and isn't in use, and I'm wondering whether the sparrows, who are nesting close by, chased them off.  Something of that sort seems to have happened round on the north gable, where a pair of swifts were showing interest in the airbrick hole where one of the sparrow nests is; Mr Sparrow put up a spirited (and noisy) defence of his patch and the swifts left well alone.  They swoop past occasionally, almost as if they're trying to wind the sparrows up, but aren't nesting, which is a pity (for me, if not for the sparrows).  Other wildlife seen around the garden includes a frog displaced by my weeding activities, a huge toad found marching purposefully past the front door one very hot day, apparently in search of some shade, and a baby rabbit who ventured in from the field behind us, and eventually hopped back through the fence and disappeared into the long grass.  It's all go in the wild garden!