The best and the worst 2023

Not a single strawberry!
The apples are like pebbles.

Lots of raspberries and blackberries.

My lavender bushes were stunning, I thought I was looking out on a field in Provence. Ditto agapanthus, but we do live in a mild coastal region. Dahlias put on a great show, and still going strong. Salvias didn't disappoint.
Roses were ok but got a lot of green fly, verbena was piffly, lupins weren't bad but got mildew, delphiniums not at all happy.
My lovely SIL watered the garden every day for 3 werks during the June heatwave while we were in France. I'm thinking of giving him the job again next year, he did so well!

Isn’t it weird my lavender was spectacular

Yes, mine too and still doing well. A delivery driver commented on the number of bees on it.

Exactly GSM mine has been covered in bees they are loving it

Oh yes, so many bees this year, they love the lavender - and they were friendly too, no stings as I weeded around the plants.

They seemed late getting going here. The thyme flowers, usually smothered in bees, attracted little interest.

Blooming verbena, self seeded, is going great guns. I’ve given away lots, I’ve weeded lots and still it grows!

I love the valerian but hate the seedlings!

Best: peonies, and my pots in my front yard look nice even though they got off to a slow start. They are purple osteospurmum with some sort of silver leafy plant (maybe brachyglottis). We have 9 apples looking good on a espaliered tree in the back yard.

Worst: the stupid roses I had a thread about a few days ago. I'm still holding a grudge...
Also, we didn't get many huckleberries this year, but the blueberries are looking good if we get some sun in the next week.

midgey

Blooming verbena, self seeded, is going great guns. I’ve given away lots, I’ve weeded lots and still it grows!

I wish I had that issue midgey, I love verbena, it’s great for flower arranging. I’m down to one stem this year, the frost killed all the rest.

Our apple trees haven’t faired very well ,but a fig tree which has never fruited has twenty small fruit. We lost a large hebe and a rowan sapling. Everything else seems to have grown like the clappers

My cosmos grown from seeds of E-bay are lovely, just a few blind ones. Lost my hebe. Great lavender this year. The japanese anenomes are like weeds in my garden I have to dig out roots every year
It has taken all Summer to bring my lawn back to a reasonable state after last years drought.

A big blue pot of Busy Lizzies is looking incredible at the moment.

Worst has been my poor hollyhocks, which I’ve posted about before.

The worst for me is the hollyhocks. I’ve come to expect rust, but this year is the worst affected I have ever seen them. I also bought a new one from a reputable garden centre and not only did it turn out to be the wrong colour, it is also a double and I hate doubles. The most satisfying are the small collection of astrantias I am cultivating; especially Ruby Wedding which has turned out to be a real beauty. I hope to make a feature of them next year. Dahlias I grew from seed have been good too.

Lovely thread! Peonies thrived in warm weather. Like others I lost some penstemon also a long treasured convolvulus cneorum in a container. Roses very good, also Canterbury bells and phlox. Crocosmia v disappointing . Like Greyduster I dislike double hollyhocks but all my singles come up lemon junket coloured wh I also dislike.
Surprise of the year -self-seeded snapdragons coming up in gaps in the patio paving.

My fuschias bought from a small farm shop have bloomed continuously for 3 months and are still going strong as have the petunias. My Japanese Anenomes seem to be on steroids.
Unfortunately, my spring bulbs were disappointing as were my clematis and I won't mention my pathetic honeysuckle.

Joseann

Oh yes, so many bees this year, they love the lavender - and they were friendly too, no stings as I weeded around the plants.

My lavender is nearly over, bees quest hopefully at the very few flowers still out, but don't linger.

However, I have some big marjoram plants in what I grandly call my 'gravel garden'' (the best seeding medium ever, for both weeds and garden plants) which have been flowering since early July, are still going strong, and are covered with bees.

Best… petunias, rambling rose and passion flower.

Worst… 3 hydrangeas with not a single bloom between them.

my roses have done very well this year, climbers and shrub. One in particular, "My Mum" is smothered with blooms in its second flush - I think my Mum is telling me something! Self-sown Rudbeckia is stunning, popping up between my dahlias which were grown from seed this year. Sunflowers are amazing - over 10 feet tall and full of flowers. So many cucumbers and chillies that I've pickled several jars of each.

On the downside I lost hebes, cistus and my climbing French beans were a disaster - covered in blackfly from top to bottom and I had to give up and pull them out. Tomatoes a bit iffy this year...