JULY: Garden update

I didn't realise there'd be so much to share one month on..!

Truly, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make this a monthly feature, although I guess one month ago I had no idea what having a garden even entailed! I’m still learning all the time but definitely have more of an appreciation of the scale, speed, and upkeep when it comes to nature and growing things yourself if nothing else…

In 30-ish days, we’ve got a whole new building up (and one taken down), fruit and veg we can actually sample, and wildflowers big enough to cut and gift to people. As you probably noticed, it’s been a very wet month, making the evening watering-can dash redundant (win) and most of my flowery things go mad (win, again!). The rain has however also meant we’re a bit behind on our plans to properly tidy, weed and add borders, but hey ho, I’ve quite enjoyed the excuse to paint the bathroom instead.

So, what happened in the garden in July?

Garden office

Probably the biggest change to our outside space is the garden office! Alex has wanted a separate-to-the-home space to work and gym in forever, so this bad boy was installed before any of our inside rooms were even finished (LOL I say that like they have NOW been finished). It’s just been plastered and this week the lights and floor will get finished, then there’ll be room for a desk and chair, armchair, coffee stuff and the Peloton. If you’re looking for something similar I’d really recommend the guys who built it for us, just drop me a message :) I took these pics a couple of weeks ago and rest assured all the debris is still in exactly the same place. We really do need to hire a skip this month…

Dahlias

The dahlias I planted in the wavy wall are out in full force now. I can see them from the kitchen window and they make me so happy every time I look out. Can’t believe my luck that this random ‘mixed’ bag from Marshall’s who were selling the last of their dahlias off cheap not only did so well but wasn’t all the same colour. Or like yellow, yellow, yellow, red, red, red because obviously, you don’t know what colour they’ll be when you get the plug.

Raspberries are raspberry-ing

Another minimal fuss fruit to grow, in my opinion. I water the raspberry vines when they look a bit dry but otherwise, let them do their thing and even though it doesn’t look like there will be the night before, come morning there are always at least three or four ripe raspberries to pick.

Blackberries

Look at those!! They come off a big tree that was already in the garden and I can’t take credit for them because I do absolutely nothing to cultivate what I can only describe as a weekly GLUT of sweet, satisfying fruit.

Tomatoes

My pride and joy! I’m enjoying looking after (see also: checking incessantly) the tomato plants in the greenhouse so very much. And after much fretting and counselling from my greener-fingered friends, I decided it just wasn’t my year for fruit. And then it was! We’ve got tomatoes, people! I filmed this about a week ago and since then all of the plants have a good amount of green baby toms on them. Watch this space.

Strawberry plants are much happier

While I don’t have any strawberries to show you, I thought it was worth mentioning for anyone else who’s struggling to grow strawberries from seed that as soon as I moved the tiny leaved plants to slightly larger pots, they’ve come on leaps and bounds. Usually, I wouldn’t transfer something that wasn’t anywhere near to outgrowing its home but I was close to ditching them entirely since they’d barely done anything in the time my tomato seeds had grown to tower over me, so I thought why not. I’m sure it’ll still be a while before we see strawbs but in the magical greenhouse, anything is possible…

Lillies

My review for Lillies would be: very slow to flower (if at all), and quick to die.

Another toxic weed discovery

I found out what this yellow-flowered weed is, and shock horror, it’s another toxic one: ragwort. The previous owners had a real penchant for poisonous plants. It looks nice and is great for the bees, plus these stripy moth caterpillars that have grown in such numbers they’ve weighed it down, but it’s poisonous to dogs and humans - thought it might be useful to share.

Wildflowers

Sad that I’d missed the opportunity to grow a billowing bed of cut flowers, I threw a bunch of wildflower seeds - the kind out of the big box, a mix of all sorts - into the previously superfluous raised bed. Save for a few cups of water, I’ve pretty much left these guys alone and they’ve done me proud. I've made several ' bouquets ' for loved ones using just the flowers from here and some of the bushier foliage that grows in our drive. This has made me even more excited to have access to blousy peonies, feathery ranunculus and tulips next year… I think it might be time to get the bulbs in soon?

Carrots

Potentially my most exciting growing update: carrots!! It is mind-blowing to me that I threw some cheap seeds into the ground and a few months later they are actual carrots I can eat for my dinner. And I did! Cooked in butter with a pinch of cumin, they were delicious. The most carroty-flavoured carrots ever. And I’m planning a carrot-top pesto with the greenery. I’ll definitely do carrots again, in larger quantities now I know what’s possible.

Hanging basket

Yes, it’s just a hanging basket, but as previously mentioned, it was the only one my meagre garden budget could stretch to and it is looking fab!

Herb garden

Probably the most-utilised addition to the patio is our herb garden, which is actually a herb wall. My auntie took me to the local garden centre where we selected the most fragrant and aesthetically pleasing plants, and I installed them in the wall, which previously housed the lupines (they were a real mission to evacuate, what with the 6ft roots + ant nests). I pick something from the wall of herbs most days, often twice a day, from chives for my scrambled eggs in the morning and basil or oregano for pizzas and pasta, to sage for roast chicken. Looking forward to some better weather in August so I can try out home-grown minty mojitos. Really recommend getting a little herb section outside your kitchen door, even if it is just in pots. They seem to be a lot happier outside, plus it smells great and looks pretty too.

That’s a wrap on July’s garden goings-on! Let me know your thoughts/tips /garden tales in the comments below!