Summer in the north-east has not disappointed - the usual mixture of sunshine, showers and breeze which pegs temperatures lower than those enjoyed by gardeners further south. To my mind this is definitely a blessing, not least because when I finally get around to the routine jobs in the garden I find that I am not quite so behind as my southern gardening friends. There is still time to prune and to chop and only now are the containers really coming into their own. So, this week (I headed for the beach last week in that mini-heatwave, just kept the garden watered thanks to Maintenance Magic), I have been deadheading lupins to encourage a final smaller flourish of flowers and doing the same for my clematis.
I have a few clematis of different types in the garden and they are all doing really well this year. A feed of tomato food at the start of flowering seems to have helped and I think the weather has been kind too. I've had to wait though...two rather unpromising, but cheap, clematis from Aldi have taken two years to find their feet but are looking great this year with pink and purple flowers complimenting each other beautifully around a metal obelisk.
In the vegetable planters my beans are only just coming into flower, but I am hopeful I will still have a reasonable crop in August whilst the parsnips also look like they are flourishing. So when I settle down to Gardener's World on a Friday evening I don't worry too much if I don't get all the jobs they suggest done - after all, gloriously, this is a region where people and plants do things their way!
I have a few clematis of different types in the garden and they are all doing really well this year. A feed of tomato food at the start of flowering seems to have helped and I think the weather has been kind too. I've had to wait though...two rather unpromising, but cheap, clematis from Aldi have taken two years to find their feet but are looking great this year with pink and purple flowers complimenting each other beautifully around a metal obelisk.
In the vegetable planters my beans are only just coming into flower, but I am hopeful I will still have a reasonable crop in August whilst the parsnips also look like they are flourishing. So when I settle down to Gardener's World on a Friday evening I don't worry too much if I don't get all the jobs they suggest done - after all, gloriously, this is a region where people and plants do things their way!
I've been lucky enough to visit the Chelsea Flower Show and nothing quite beats the atmosphere of actually being there and being surrounded, almost bombarded with new ideas for planting and design. However, with the excellent BBC coverage now in full swing I can get my Chelsea fix at home in the north-east when I can't make it to London. There are lots of reasons for loving the North-East life: this time of year it is the fact that the cooler climate means we are a few weeks behind the Chelsea gardens and therefore there is a bit of time to bring a bit of Chelsea to the garden here even this season, as well as prepare for the next. There will be lots more to come this week but I am already wondering where I can squeeze in a couple more David Austin roses and I love the purples and coppers in some of the show gardens. This relaxed but elegant garden caught my eye too...
Finally the sunshine has appeared and in a rare moment of peace we decided to go to Penshaw Tearooms for a coffee and a browse of the plants. We weren't the only ones...funny how a sunny day makes us all look at our gardens, tubs and lawns and think it is time to get planting. There were lots of plants to choose from and it gave us some great ideas for tubs and hanging baskets in a few weeks time when the tulips have finally given up and the danger of frost has past. In the end we were quite restrained, settling on a gorgeous multi-coloured trailing fuschia with quite delicate, small flowers. Now the sun is warming the ground there will be a few vegetable seeds planted this weekend: carrots, parsnips and beans are always popular here and in a few weeks salad leaves too. With patios and terraces in need of a clean and lawns now growing a-pace there has never been a better time to book your slot with Maintenance Magic.
