In The Garden, Part 7.

I wasn’t going to write another gardening blog this year because I thought the garden had already peaked and was past it’s best. However, it seems to have revived itself recently. I think one reason is that I removed a lot of dead stuff which has given other plants more room to grow. This seems to be especially true in my hanging baskets where the verbena hybreda and petunias seem to be thriving now. Some other plants have also begun to bloom, such as Mirabilis Jalapa also known as Marvel Of Peru. (See top pic) This perennial was apparently cultivated by the Aztecs and have red or yellow flowers which are closed in the morning and open in the late afternoon. The only problem for me is they are quite bushy and grow about 3 feet tall which is a bit big for my tiny garden. 

Cosmos

Another tall plant is a dahlia called Apricot Star which has very attractive flowers and should be in bloom until the first frosts. It is hard to imagine frost at the moment as we enter the fifth heatwave this summer. I will only be outside in the morning and evening for the next few days. I won’t be using my hosepipe for watering either as we are officially in a drought situation now. I will use my watering can though. My Cosmos or Mexican Aster should be good until the end of September. They are thriving and looking better every day especially when we have a bit of a breeze and they dance in the air. A couple of blue perennials have been in bloom and spreading outwards since the early spring. One is Campanula or Dalmatian Bellflower and the other is Geranium Roxanne which should be good until October. Since I removed some dead nasturtiums and evening primrose the Oxalis Tetraphylla or Lucky Clover has also thrived.

Blueberry Plant.

Yesterday outside Lidl they were selling Blueberry plants and as I have blueberries with my porridge every morning I bought one so I can grow my own blueberries. I looked up on the internet how to grow them successfully and it said they like lots of sun and acidic soil and to use ericaceous compost. I went round to Davies, bought a bag of that compo and in the cool of the evening planted it in a biggish pot in my yard where it will catch lots of sun. I'll take another pic in the Spring and let you know how it is getting on. I went for lunch with a friend to the café at the garden centre in Trowbridge today and bought an allium which is soaking in a bowl of water at the moment. I’ll plant it this evening. It better grow because it cost £12. I bought 3 dianthuses as well. 

Elephant Hawk Moth

Yesterday evening I was pottering about out in the garden and I came across the biggest caterpillar I have ever seen in my life. I took its photo and google images told me it was an Elephant Hawk Moth. They live on such plants as honeysuckle and fuchsias. That is one of the good things about the internet, you can educate yourself about plants and nature. Also, talking about nature, a new gang of sparrows seem to have moved into the ‘hood. I hope they stay because I like looking at the birdlife when I’m sitting in the yard. That’s enough garden talk for one day. Don't forget there is a partial solar eclipse tomorrow evening. I think here in the west of England is a great place to view it, so that's what I'll be watching tomorrow.