Garden Update

Late summer promises to be as lovely, if a bit cooler, than early and mid-summer. Sunrise is at 5:30 these days and sunset at about 9:15, so we still have longish days. I like getting up early and enjoying the cool quiet, sitting at my desk in the utility room with a cup of tea and an acrostic puzzle to get my brain going. I am trying to water the hanging baskets and outdoor potted plants as early as possible to protect them from the long hours of sun. I have learned that even on days when we have early morning rain, if the rain doesn't continue into the day, I must water these plants.

Our plantings from early summer are thriving now as you can see from the photos of the trellis planter which I filled (over-filled now that it's all grown up so well) with Nasturtiums, Lobelia, and Sweetpeas. The Sweetpeas are struggling for light and air in all that growth, but they are poking their heads up now and I do believe they'll make a showing in another week or two...or three. The Nasturtiums were suppose to climb the trellis. The Lobelia was supposed to creep along at the bottom of the Nasturtiums and fill in the center part of the box. The Sweetpeas were supposed to be left alone along the front row to grow up, bud out, then spill down the front of the box in a profusion of blooms. It may happen yet. I'm still optimistic. Meanwhile you can enjoy the Nasturtiums who refuse to climb (are they suffering from vertigo?) and the Lobelia which was, in truth, probably way overplanted. At least half of these plants should have been put into the window boxes.

The window boxes are coming along very well. One box has a Coreopsis (a small yellow daisy with ferny leaves) that has taken over its half of the box and completely overshadowed the Dahlia planted next to it. One of them will have to go somewhere else. The plants in the front bed are mostly spreading out and doing really well. The Lupines have about finished blooming and I must cut off all the seed heads if I don't want to have lots of little Lupines but of a watered-down variety springing up (and I don't). The four Clematis are doing well on the garden arch. One of the summer bloomers is producing lots of medium-sized light purple blossoms.

The basil I bought from the Hoticultural Society booth at the Street Fair at the start of Comrie Fortnight (2 weeks ago) is doing just great where I planted it on the side of the front extension, just beside the pathway. Here it is sheltered, gets lots of sun, and I'm being careful about not overwatering. We've already had some in salads and a couple of cooked dishes.

This morning is one of our two monthly garden rubbish uplifts. We will happily (and quickly) refill the bin in no time at all. Yesterday afternoon Don, bless him, finished sorting through the soil and filling in the trench left over from the cable to our pathway lights. What he sorted out of that soil (mostly moss and roots) filled a bag. Afterward, he took a load of garden rubbish to the skip in Crieff. While he was gone, I pulled the spent stalks of Alstroemeria along the side of the house, cut back the redcurrent, and cleaned out that bed so there is almost another full load ready to go. The clean bed looks so much better than the cluttered, overgrown, tangled mess that we've been living with.

While I was at it, I harvested what I could salvage from our three rhubarb plants. Last night after supper (I made a lovely lasagna, even if I do say so myself), I cooked the chopped rhubarb with a handful of fresh strawberries. We will have this to put on yoghurt or ice cream tonight.