Garden loks a bit summery in spite of the weather

A few pics from today just to brighten things up before the next lot of wind and rain arrive


Ferdinand Pichard, very strong scent, right outside the front door;


Arthur Bell


The front wall, Seagull (white) Ena Harkness (few red among the white, running late) Complicata, (Pink, very old variety) Bridge of Sighs, (apricot peeping out among the pink)


Corvedale, a Peter Austin "new English rose" (cross between a modern repeat flowering rose and an older traditional variety)

Just a few of the 50 or so I have :roll:

Roses do grow here in Spain but you never see a show like that Mike. Beautiful.

Lovely show Mike. We're about 10 days behind you up here in darkest Northants but, weather permitting, the roses should be out by the end of the month. 

Very Luffly, and clean looking too…….must see what Mme Doof has in the flower line.

The potager [posh for French veg Patch] is like a well forward UK veg patch, but it has not been warm enough for the melons and cucumbers to be anywhere near picking. The courgettes are tiny, too.

A stone of strawberries so far, but too much water means a less intense taste, the new potatoes have gone from nothing to huuuuge in three weeks and we are freezing peas.

The early March warmth brought out lots of blossom on the peach, nectarine and apricot trees, but the April hail/rain knocked off ALL the fruitlets, the first year in 11 years we will not have any and the raspberry canes are six-foot high nearly and very sappy.

The parsnip leaves are 2 ft high, leeks are like palm trees and there are possibly rhinos amongst the onions, BUT most of the lettuces are rotting and the blackcurrants, though promising are slow in swelling. Carrots are good.

Garlic is 50/50, about 30 bulbs harvested already as they looked like they were drowning instead of ripening [planted the cloves in October 2012] but despite loads of flower on the Dwarf beans very few have set.  I spread compost from the commune recycling centre in the Autumn, and the bl%%dy stuff is full of Oxalis and Purlane weed seed…aaargh!

How are the UK veg patchers doing?

 

Doug

 

Mike, forgot to ask [for Mme Doof] does Covedale repeat at all? She loves the old roses but for effect likes a longer season.

 

D

 

Mike, those roses are bloomin lovely, I particularly like the Ferdinand Pichard. Nothing like the sight and smell of an English garden in full bloom to my mind!