Incredible Weather, Empty Waterbutts and Lots of Flowers

In the time since my last post, the weather has got better and better and hotter and hotter. For the first time in a few years, the vegetable harvest is making it all seem worthwhile. From early crops such as Asparagus and Rhubarb, to later ones such as Strawberries and Raspberries, the combination of rain followed by hot sun has meant that quantities are the highest ever. In the last few weeks, I have harvested 1.5kg gooseberries, 2kg first early potatoes and 2kg of strawberries alone. This edition will include more about the allotment, my favourite flowers of the moment and future plans for wildflower meadows.

In my last post I discussed my two favourite plants at that time, Lupins and Oriental Poppies, chosen for their injections of colour in early borders dominated by lush green growth. However, my favourite time of the year has to be summer, when soft pastel colours are replaced by dominant reds, oranges and yellows. In the garden at the moment, I have lots of Hemerocallis growing in a variety of colours as highlighted by the pictures below. As well as these, the mid season Clematis are flowering, attracting lots of bees and hoverflies.


These are Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate', H. 'Pink Damask' and Monarda 'Fireball'.

Whilst I try to be as wildlife friendly as I can, one area where I know I can definitely improve is increasing diversity by introducing wildflower meadows. I have been visiting local gardens to get an idea of what other people are doing and looking at ways in which I can introduce areas into my garden. This is an area where I don't want to rush and make mistakes so will take some time. I will keep you updated over the coming months about how this progresses.

The Allotment
Since last time, the allotment has been baked by consistent temperatures that haven't been seen for at least a few years. This has meant that warm loving plants such as tomatoes and courgettes have grown incredibly well, whilst some of my lettuce has been quick to bolt. I have been harvesting the courgettes regularly, when the fruits are around 10cm long and cook them simply with green pesto (recipe below). As well as the courgettes, my beetroot has been going crazy and I have been struggling with what to do with them. One thing that I have made recently is Gooseberry jam and chutney, which although tasting good at the moment, should improve and mature over time. However, despite the positives, I have to admit failure with carrots this year. I have tried 4 seperate sowings and each time they have appeared only to be eaten by a combination of chickens
and slugs. I refuse to use pesticides and although disappointing, I have moved onto new crops such as Pak Choi and Kailaan Brocolli. The hot weather and lack of rain has led to regular waterings of my raised beds, which are free draining, meaning my water butts were emptied very quickly. I think that you can never have too many water butts and this is an area which I am looking to improve on.

Recipe Idea
As mentioned above, one of my favourite summer recipes is sliced courgettes with green pesto. If using a jar of pesto, the whole meal takes around 10 minutes to make, and even less to eat and can be adapted to suit numbers. I start by peeling ribbons from the courgettes using a peeler, which creates pasta-like sheets. Whilst doing this, I have a pan on a medium heat with a little oil (rapeseed is my personal preference but use what you like). Once you have enough ribbons, add them to the pan and fry for around 5 minutes just to soften and colour the strips. Once this is done, drain the courgette onto kitchen paper and heat the pesto in the empty pan. Once warm, add the courgettes, season and enjoy. I would love to hear your own recipes for courgettes as soon enough I will have run out of ideas to deal with my glut.

I will leave it here this time and as always look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions. Take care and happy cottage gardening.

CG