It was almost July. The solstice had come and gone but the rose arches were in full flower. On our upper arch I grow a climber from a cutting mum struck for me soon after we moved in. That was over twenty years ago. She called the variety ‘Queen Alexandra Day Rose’. Or simply the Alexandra Day Rose. The sale of roses dates from 1912 and celebrates Alexandra’s arrival here from Denmark. Its a fund-raising day for her charities, especially for hospitals.
The Alexandra could be a type of Alpine Rose. It’s petals are just the same but, unfortunately, it’s not thornless as is the true Alpine. Either way it’s vigorous, very pretty and flowers freely every year. In fact it grows much more productively than the damask rose from David Austin roses which wasn’t free! However for the last two summers I’ve been thinning the lovely climbing rose and, with another friend, removing the honeysuckle around the upper arch. A ‘honeysuckle and rose arch’ sounds so good but tragically the honeysuckle thwarts the rose. It is simply too rampant. And, of the two, I prefer the rose over the heavy honeysuckle.
By our patio a spreading Rose of Sharon was blooming. We fast approaching the end of June but this unchecked plant was growing faster than the honeysuckle. It’s lovely even as a cut flower - but pervasive. In the coming months it will also have to be dealt with. It is swallowing up prettier more delicate varieties.
In contrast I was pleased to see the advanced progress of my veggies. By the 2nd of July my climbing beans were climbing. They had reached 1 foot in height. The dwarf beans were full of leaf and my first Sweet Petite cherry tomatoes were red. What a great time was to be had by walking up the garden and seeing it all flourishing.
My only real disappointment was the cherry tree which D had moved the previous autumn. It was still barely in leaf. I can only hazard a guess that the soil isn’t suiting it all. My spinach seedlings were doing nothing either. As spinach is so easy to grow I must have inadvertently tried sowing seeds from an old packet.
Nevertheless my new lawn mower was an ideal weight for me. I just had to remember to charge the battery pack before use! My wilding patch didn’t produce more self-seeded varieties than any other part of the garden so I took the decision to reseed it with grass seed for the time being. I had planted bate-rooted lupins, hollyhocks and Chines lanterns in the depths of winter. The first two were growing well. I can only think the lanterns had rotted or were eaten by slugs. Maybe I need to buy a potted lantern next summer rather than a root which can be planted in wintry, muddy, cold soil. But then fail to thrive.
Gardening is an experiment. And it’s exciting to see what works and what doesn’t. We went for a weekend in Devon in early July and afterwards I planted marigolds near my beans in order to lure insects away from the crops. That worked and the marigolds added a splash of yellow to the vegetable plots and raised beds. Then it was time for a week in Dartmouth and a weekend in Cornwall when my husband could see his brother.
On our return the climbing beans were at the tops of their wigwams. It was July 16.
Schools were about to break up and the July 19 easing of covid restrictions was about to take place. And I made my first pickings of dwarf and climbing beans. It was an excellent feeling!
Next time: cabbages!
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