sunshine and rain

It's so exciting going to the allotment this time of year as things grow so quickly. Spring you spend time waiting for seeds to germinate then protecting the seedlings- everything seems slow then bam in the summer it all takes off. The courgettes are growing on the tails of their flowers, coming quicker than you can eat them. I have lovely cucumbers -variety Passandra that my friend recommended - they never go bitter. I picked some of the beetroot as they are growing too close together. I will boil them in their skins for an hour or two till soft and then eat them. Dug up some more potatoes and garlic too. I need to sow some more carrot as half a row did not germinate. The other row of carrots looks great but not big enough to harvest yet. I started to dig up my broad beans as between the black fly and the squirrels there's nothing left. I am going to put in some more dwarf french beans instead as I love them and that means I'll be able to harvest some later. There's loads of black fly this year (dry weather) but on the plus side less slugs. The ladybird larvae are starting to eat their way through the flies. So nice to see so many ladybirds. The rain held out while I was at the allotment then drenched me completely on the way home. Me and the plants were well watered. (I like the rain)
My friend T came over on Monday and let me take some photos on her camera and emailed them to me. What a treat! After she's gone I realised I'd taken pics of the plants but none of my child but she'd taken some.

Chilean potato climber still flowering months later along with second flush of roses.

Tomatoes yipee!!!

Cosmos

Clematis has turned into wonderful fluffy seed heads

White lavender.

no not crop rotation yet

Sorry have had a busy day today - had two social engagements in one day. Rarely does this happen. Yes - once upon a time i went to work and had to talk to people all day but that was a long time ago. I need some quiet and sleep before I am able to talk about crop rotation.

However I did go in my garden again. Judging by the squelchy sound underfoot I should have aerated my own lawn instead of just doing my friend's. The Clematis armandii has lots of buds which is great as it didn't flower much last year. This was all the more galling coz I bought my friend one at the same time and she kept telling me how well hers was doing and that it had flowered three times during the year and it's only meant to flower once!! It's a great clematis as it has lovely glossy big leaves and is evergreen. There are also signs of daffodils coming up. It was good to sit in the sun and listen to the birds singing. I wrapped a blanket round me. I had done some writing so deserved a break.