Summer garden

Our garden is full of colour, so many plants are doing well this year, our summer has been wet, which as you can see does have it's benefits. These are some of the blooms in our side bed, I try to mix and match colours and size, giving interest to this space. These photo's were taken before the heavy rain set in, 4 rainy days together, so it must be summer. 

I do love Begonia's, in every form and colour, their flowers are stunning, but their leaves match each bloom for their beauty. All are grown in different pots and chimneys, even my bedding plants. The top circular bloom is a surprise, I purchased yellow single blooms, but this white double appeared. 

It's also good to have busy Lizzies back in the garden, these are brilliant for pots as they bloom forever, I have just 4 plants, and they fill their space. For a couple of years they were not available due to disease.

English lavender, the white was a bit broken off (no I didn't break it) daughters plant last spring, it's filling out well, the blue has been planted a few years, it will need a trim soon, it's getting a bit big for this space. Lovely to see the bees all over them this summer. 

My acer tree, which we planted in the ground earlier this year has loads of new growth, it's always a worry when you move plants, the trio in the bigger pot is loving it's new location, the smaller acer in the small pot has grown loads this summer. 

Coleus, I try and grow some each year as hubby loves them, plus just one red salvia,  there were 4 of them in this planter, but with the heavy rain, I lost 3, The tub is a cheap soft square washing up bowl with handles, perfect, I can move it to any part of the garden. 

I moved this sink, which was very heavy, so I had to dig out the 4 plants, but they have settled again, I am excited to see new growth in the back right corner, this is my blood grass, the plant came very small and has grown slowly, it looking really healthy. 

 In the raised bed at the back of the garden, I have planted poppies, they are dark red when they open and fade to pink, I still have a few daisies, but the cornflowers have finished. I am hoping they set seed and more grow next year, together these are blooms I love, they always remind me of the seaside.

I am really happy with the look of our garden this summer, I have finally found the balance of what grows in our heavy clay soil, the side bed is the best area, when we lifted the paving stones to create this bed, we added loads of manure and top soil, I add compost or manure each year to keep the bed healthy. The back bed in front of the greenhouse, is the worse bed, I have dug in loads but it disappears in the heavy clay, so I have changed how I plant it. Using so many pots allows me to grow many different plants, I can give them the soil conditions they require.

I am loving the balance of flowers and form, for years I only grew bedding plants and small shrubs, everything was about the summer flower, in this garden where we sit and look out at it all year, the focus has changed. now whilst still having bare spots in the winter months, there is still enough to keep it interesting. Stems and leaves can be as beautiful as flowers, I do love the bare limbs on our trees, we watch the birds around our feeders dance from each branch. 

I do not dig my beds, I have not used my spade in years, other than to dig a big hole for the Acer, when I add to the top of the soil, everything is pulled down and disintegrates, the plants have loads of food. I don't suffer with many weeds, the ground cover and close planting seems to keep them at bay, luckily for me the wind generally blows into our neighbours wild garden, which blows any seed away from us.  

It does feel strange not to have any projects in planning, I do miss my note book and pencil, where I sketch plan and then redesign. I am now looking for different seeds and pips to play with, I do love to see the results. I have been reading up on how to care for cranberries, has anyone grow any and got a crop?