Hot and cold

The British summer is said to be two hot days and a thunderstorm.  Despite the arrival of the swallows (and house martins), it’s not summer yet; but the sunny weather culminated in a couple of very warm days (T-shirts), a few distant rumbles of thunder, and now cold northerly winds (full winter gardening kit).  It is supposed to warm up again, gradually, but without the temperatures in the mid-20s (centigrade) that we had last week.  It’s still dry, and pots are gasping for water.

The sun has brought on the flowers; we had lily-of-the-valley to cut for May Day, and roses are starting to bloom.  The dahlias are leafing up well in the greenhouse, but I’ll wait until the current chilly spell is past before trusting them to the great outdoors.

The cooking apple tree

The apples are also in flower; the big cooking apple tree is in better shape (literally) this year, since I removed a few of the lower branches in this winter’s pruning.  The little apple tree, which is slowly dying off, has flowered quite nicely, and I’ve cut away the dead bits to help it along a little.  The plum tree also flowered well, and the fruit seems to have set, thanks to a lack of frosts.

Climbing frames

In the veg plot, canes are in place for the climbing plants; pea ‘Alderman’ is already sown, under the slightly lop-sided left-hand structure, while the right-hand one is waiting for the summer beans (which are sprouting in the greenhouse, but won’t be put outside until the weather warms up).  The last broccoli plant, in between them, still has some usable heads on it, but will go to the compost bins soon, along with the kale (further to the right, out of the picture) which is well in flower.  Tomatoes and courgette plants are growing well, but indoors; it’s still much too cold at nights even in the greenhouse for them.

The dry weather hasn’t done much for the window-box, which I keep forgetting to water; I’ll need to put the summer planting in there soon.  Fortunately the daffodil leaves have already died back.  The wildlife also needs water; our hedgehog has been coming in the evenings for a good long drink!

A thirsty visitor