What's growing?

kitty I love Chinese Lanterns but I plant mine in a pot first to contain the roots before planting them in the border.

Alstromeria are quite difficult to move though aren't they? Next door has a huge out of control patch (lovely though) but I'm not sure how to transfer them to mine. Is it a bulb or what?

Got lots of Alchemilla but Hollyhocks struggle here.

Why can't I find Californian Poppies anywhere? They seem to come under the heading of Icelandic Poppies now which are mixed colours, and I just want to establish a clump of lovely bright orange Californian ones.

And still the weeds... and grass... are growing.... gggggrrrrrrr !

Marelli I think you would be wasting your time starting tomatoes now in our climate! Mine, in a wee greenhouse like a cupboard are flowering now and I have hopes. Last year I only got about half a dozen ripe ones and the rest made a small batch of green tomato chutney - worst year so far.

Also have hopes for a bumper crop of rasps, gooseberries and plums, all looking good ATM but who knows what the rest of the 'summer' will bring.

Slugs and snails I started putting out beer traps about 10 years ago and have noted the slug/snail population of my garden steadily reducing year on year. Last year we harvested and ate all of the Brassicas I had planted. This year they are doing well (fingers crossed) in a small, slug and caterpillar free poly tunnel. Peas, beans, courgettes and onions are doing 'as well as can be expected' but I seem to have a row of weeds where the parsnips should be. My crops are always behind the times given on the packet. I rely on a warm September to ripen them off.

You can buy packets seeds from garden centres , make very sure they are in a very hot position,

I think all the Californian Poppies are in the gravel at the front of my house . Thankfully I stopped my neighbour from pulling them up a few years ago [in MY garden he was]. I said 'don't do that, they're poppies' and he replied 'they're poppy weeds'.

Had the first of our new potatoes this evening with a delicious pork chop from our local butcher. Apart from the meat, everything on the plate was home grown. Nothing tastier!!

Merlot how lovely. We have a bumper crop of strawberries this year so all the kids in the neighbourhood have access to a mini "pick your own" farm, I even supply the plastic tubs to take them away in. This is because I couldn't be bothered with making jam after last year's attempt flopped and was too runny. I have learnt to make a superb strawberry roulade though! I sprinkle flaked almonds on the inside and filling is mascarpone and caster sugar - and strawbs of course. Yummy! Plus impresses husband no end, if he had a tail, he'd wag it. Asked me to make one 'for the office' the other day

There were bright green stripy caterpillars on our red cabbages this morning chomping away at the leaves as if there is no tomorrow. And for them, there won't be.

First year for growing cauliflowers - so far, so good. Same for onions. And the potato crop looks promising. So do the tomatoes.

Oh! That sounds fantastic. As does merlotgran's new spuds.

Yum!

Granny23, we bought 3 tomato plants today at a little garden centre. They were half-price, so perhaps that tells us something! Anyway, the struggling ones have been chucked out and we have started again, putting them in pots instead of a grow-bag. I'm definitely blaming OH for over-watering the last lot.
Every year we have lots and lots of yellow Welsh poppies. However much we pull them out, they keep on growing. I think they're lovely.

Marelli I love buying 'rescue plants' and seeing whether I can get them going. I also like the 'surprise' poppies.

I love plant surprises too. A tall evening primrose is looking lovely this evening. I've no idea how it got there, but as usual, nature plants better than humans.

I'm so looking forward to a long day in the garden tomorrow. DH will be glued to the Grand Prix so we won't eat until the evening.

Me too Merlot. DH is spending the day in his boat, and I don't even have to cook as DD2 has invited us for dinner
Came back from the States yesterday to find the garden had blossomed in my two weeks absence - and have to admit I do like the alchemilla mollis, just not its bad habits. It looks lovely with purple and pink hardy geraniums, and Gloire de Diujon is blooming round the French window.
I haven't got a vegetable garden but I have some raspberries in pots which are coming on well, lots of blueberries coming, and apples and plums beginning to form. I planted some lettuces in a wicker basket thing a couple of months ago and we had our first taste tonight - yummy, despite DH's concerns about the slightly hole-y appearance

Feeding the birds is reaping a reward - thrushes and blackbirds are dealing with the slugs and nesting sparrows and tits are keeping the blackfly to manageable levels.

henetha - I think California poppies and Icelandic ones are different things. I'm not sure but I can grow lovelly California poppies and remember thinking it odd because I live much nearer Iceland than California!

Does anyone know I can get seeds for California poppies and also old fashioned Marigolds? The sort that grow like weeds when you don't want them but give up and die when you try to encourage them.

You can seeds for both marigolds (Calendula officinalis) and Californian poppies from big seed merchants like Thompson & Morgan, dusty. Also from ebay, I suspect, and probably from the RHS.

...get seeds...

Thankyou Bags. Who would have thought that a marigold could be called nana fruit twist? Meanwhile I've remembered that I was given a packet of sunflower seeds when we went to see Calendar Girls at the weekend so I shall plant them tonight.

A couple of years ago, I split my big agapanthus. Not much happened last year, but at least one of the plants now has plenty of buds. I do love agapanthus - it reminds me of my very fertile garden in Kenya, many years ago.

More a case of "what's wilting".

The leeks are just standing there doing nothing. They're being watered twice a day but not putting on any growth. Same goes for the beans.

Harvested all the broccoli today as it was in danger of bolting. Looking good in the freezer.....Another job jobbed.

Starting the gooseberry wine tomorrow.

Harvesting new potatoes, courgettes, garlic, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries and black currants.
Beans slow this year, but sweet corn, carrots and parsnips look promising.
Gooseberry wine? Might give that try but its years since I made my own wine.
Making raspberry jam later today"

Do you have an allotment, Aka? It sounds very 'good life'.