Little things in a vase on Monday.

I've got two little vases today so I can appreciate the detail of some small flowers. 

The first is Nasturtiums. I've got these growing over a patch of ground we are trying to tame and I've been admiring these lovely creamy blooms. I planted tiny plants a month or two ago and now they are rambling all over or perhaps taking over is the right term.   I added some dark red ones as well. 

I did try them with their own foliage but it seemed too big so I added this Corydalis. I think it's just right. 

So cheerful. 

The second is a little jug of Dahlia 'Gallery Art Fair'. These do suffer a little in wet weather so it's best to bring them in out of the rain!

I hope you like my little jug. It came from a charity shop a few weeks ago for the vase sum of £1. 

They are mostly pure white but have a slight tinge of green in the very centre. 
For plenty of colourful and creative vases visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden - In a vase on Monday. 

How do you like my new neighbours? They are just outside my bedroom window. The parents work so hard and I think, by the timing, they must be on their second brood. 

Their flying skills are very impressive as the little gap is only about 1 inch and they do come in at speed.

I guess they'll be off soon and let the parents have a bit of a rest. 

In a vase on Monday - Jumble of summer

 I wanted to showcase these wonderful sunflowers 'Prado Red' so I chose a few other things to add in. In fact the sunflowers seem overwhelmed by everything else and fade into the background. 

Rudbeckia hirta 'Green Eyes' I was fondly imagining these to be green flowers but of course it's the centre which is green. The eye. Doh. Shame, I quite fancy a green rudbeckia. 
Amaranthus caudatus - just a few weeks ago these were tiny. 
Crocosmia - no name
There is some cosmos foliage at the back but  you can barely see it in this picture. I'm getting lots of lush foliage on some plants so I've whipped off the tops in the hope of encouraging flowers. It's good as vase filler but needs water straight away. 

This is a jumble of summer flowers, mostly pink. Starry Dahlia 'Honka Pink'.

 Pink Dahlia 'Classic Rosamund, white 'Bishop of Dover, pink and blue larkspur

 Some sort of scabious, first pink aster, Penstemon 'Sour grapes'. Varigated Caryopteris foliage. This is just coming into bud so I should have left it really. 
I'm very pleased to have the larkspur as I never manage to grow it very well. So far each plant has one flower stem but I'm hoping for side shoots. Do you pinch yours out? 

For interesting and intriguing vases from around the world visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden - In a vase on Monday. 

Adventures in a Poly Tunnel - July

It's been a month of high temperatures and low rainfall until this last week when we have had plenty of rain. The water butts are full again and I am bailing out trays of small pots about to drown. 

There is plenty going on in the tunnel though I've not spent as long in there as I should have done. 

As we go in the strawberry plants are on the left. They did very well but all good things come to an end. I cut off all the leaves and gave them some BF&B and a good watering. I'm going to try and get them planted into lines as it would be much easier for harvesting next year. 

Next some Kohl rabi. Also Garlic chives. Some of these Kohl rabi swelling but I think they have probably been too dry so the rest might have to come out. As I was taking this I notices the holes and discovered plenty of caterpillars so I whipped them off and disposed of them. How? I'll leave that to your imagination. 

As usual rocket going to seed. It does produce lots of little side leaves so it stays in until I need the space. 

I had a few bean plants in here last year and they did very well so here are some Cobra. Producing lovely long slim beans. The broad beans were behind. I cut them down but a few had more flowers coming at the base so I left them in hoping for a few more beans. 

Tomatoes in the centre. I'm doing well at removing side shoots and lower leaves. I've been feeding with molasses as recommended by James Wong (Grow for Flavour) and have also sprayed with aspirin dissolved in water. Also recommended by James. This is supposed to help them fight off blight. So far so good but probably too early to judge. They do look healthier than normal, I think. 

Gardener's Delight and Tigerella were sown first and are ahead of the others. It's so good to be harvesting tasty tomatoes. 

Small black chillis turning red when ripe. I've forgotten the name of them. This plant is now 3 years old. I've kept it in the house through two winters. 

Samphire grown from cuttings from a supermarket packet. Just watered normally with a dose of salty water now and then. More garlic chives in the background. 

Spinach beet on the right hand side. 

Soya beans. I have not tried these yet, I need to find out when to harvest and what is eating these. Sigh. 

Long green chili which turns red when ripe. 

I like to keep trays of things ready to plant when there is a space. I've slipped a bit in the last month but this is spinach and beetroot. I hope to get some more sowing done today. We are having torrential rain so that's a good indoor job!

Happy days. Broad beans, french beans, snap peas and courgettes from outside. And lovely eggs, of course. 

Harvesting in July (Inside and out):

Tomatoes

Garlic chives

Garlic

Spinach 

Perpetual spinach

cucumbers

French beans

Broad beans

Runner beans

Snap peas

Parsley

Basil 

Spring onions

Samphire

Chillis

Courgettes

Rocket

Beetroot

These are the successes. I've failed to have a succession of lettuce. The seeds have either not germinated or not survived. It is disappointing but I've got some coming on now and I've had a few plants which I've harvested leaves from rather than the whole head. 

Temperature high July to date: 41∘C

Night time low: 7.5 ∘C

In a vase on Monday

I've been brutal and dug up this inherited hydrangea. It is flowering in full Barbie pink and, in fact, there are several more who's days are numbered. 
Here it is in two vases. The first:

I'm sorry if this is your favourite plant and I've offended you. It's probably still alive so if you'd like it, call round and we'll have a cup of tea and a tour of the garden and you can take it home. 

This vase is destined for our office windowsill at work. I often take flowers if I have time and they do cheer up the office.

In the vase:
Barbie drink Hydrangea
Teucreum crispum
Dahlia 'Rip City'
Hordeum jubatum - foxtail barley
Ceanothus foliage
I do think they look better mixed with other things. Perhaps I add something else later. 

For plenty of creative and interesting vases visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden - In a vase on Monday. 

A couple of weeks ago we had some time away in the east of the country.  I'd never been and there were several gardens I wanted to visit. 
How is this for a view? The famous White Garden from the top of Sissinghurst Castle Tower. 

It was pretty busy, as you'd expect, but every so often people would clear and I had a clear view for photos. It's vast and very lovely. Sadly the roses were mostly over. We've had some very hot weather so they haven't lasted long. 

Still lots to see though. Definitely worth the trip across country.