My last post perhaps gave the impression that there’s little room for flowers in our small garden; that all my attention has been on growing stuff to eat. But not so. June has been wonderfully floriferous, especially in the border atop the terrace wall. And beneath it, while the geraniums, centaurea, foxgloves, valerian and St. Cecilia rose came to full bloom, Graham sat on a chair, suitably hatted, and methodically chipped off the failed and peeling plaster. Our builder, Alan, says he’ll come and re-do it in autumn. And while he’s here sort out the old back garden steps. The house improvements continue.
St. Cecilia rose, Ann Thomson geranium, Sherbet Fizz pot marigold
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Looking from the top of the garden towards the kitchen door, the border runs between the far end of shed and the right hand path. It also includes two miniature apple trees planted back in the autumn. The rose, St. Cecilia, was languishing there when we moved in nearly two years ago, but she’s had a good feed and a hard prune, and this June has been flowering wonderfully. She may be a tad wishy-washy colour-wise, but she has an exquisitely delicate scent.
Self-sown foxgloves among the geraniums at the path end of the border
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The garden peripheries have also bloomed over the last couple of weeks, surprising given our near total lack of rain for many weeks. In the northerly corner the medicinal herb, St. John’s Wort is now soaring into the apple tree. I grew it from seed donated by a supporter of the Bishop’s Castle Seed Bank. The seed packets sit in a tray at the Town Hall and are free, although donations are welcomed.
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Also blooming for the first time is this dreamy perennial foxglove. It has a tendency to flop somewhat in warmer temperatures, and has been struggling in the dry soil under the big apple tree. Mulching with hot-bin compost helped. And some hand watering of course.
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And another cool looking plant that’s just started to flower. A white mallow. She’s been in several spots around the garden, but is now in the rear westerly corner, behind the Rooster potatoes and in front of a very nice miniature crab apple tree. The moves seem to have left her unscathed:
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At the front of the house we have two biggish square beds, created after removing ugly paving (recycled into shed base and new back garden steps), but they are very much a work in progress. In the southerly one, I have some currently very small shrubs growing on, a couple of escallonias and a cistus, and in the meantime there’s a mix of herbaceous perennials and annuals, cosmos and zinnias, filling the spaces.
I was missing my Evereste crab apple tree, and managed to find a miniature one. It’s planted in a small circular raised bed of corten steel which I’m expecting to rust. Around it are some assorted small plants, including a white rock rose and Santolini rosmarinifolia, which are evergreen, Salvia Salavatore, and a trailing plant, Oregano Kent Beauty (centre front). This last was a wonderful plant discovery courtesy of Jude at Cornwall in Colours. I’d never seen it before I saw it on her blog. It really seems to like our garden, so thank you, Jude.
In the background right, not yet flowering, are three alcalthaea – a cross between mallow and hollyhocks. They are apparently short-lived perennials, but we’ll see. Last year they grew very tall and had to be curtailed, but their peachy pale flowers were very pretty.
Plants apart, the main activity in June was having our drive dug up by Justin, Bishop’s Castle’s professional excavator sans pareil. He mostly had to use a pick, this because the exact location of our water main pipe was uncertain. And this was happening because we wanted our rusted hundred year old, cast iron water pipe replaced with a plastic one. To say this was one heavy duty task is an understatement. Order is restored, but the drive now needs to be resurfaced.
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Out beyond the garden gate:
A week last Sunday in Bishop’s Castle we had midsummer celebrations in the form of a gathering of Morris dancing troupes, local and further flung. They started on Sunday morning with rousing performances and much drumming at the next door care home, after which they streamed up the road past the house to continue performing at the top of the town. Later when we tried to drive out of the town by our usual route, we found the road ahead full of dancers and musicians, and were advised that they might be there for some time and so would we mind making a detour. We didn’t. It was all good fun and surely makes a change from having multiple local roads closed for cable laying.
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And yesterday (Sunday) we treated ourselves to another local institution – climbing to the top of the town to visit the House on Crutches Museum. (I forgot to take a photo of the outside so click on the link to see it). We hadn’t been for two years, but it’s a wonderfully quirky collection, revealing many aspects of Bishop’s Castle history, in particular how it featured on the ancient drovers’ route out of Wales, a way of life and of making a living that survived some 800 years. At the top of the rickety stairs that we both managed to fall up, I stopped to take this view down the High Street: a sleepy Sunday in Bishop’s Castle.
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Today as I write this, on the last day of June, we are having our hottest day so far this year, apparently 29 degrees C (84 degrees F) at 3 pm this afternoon at Shropshire’s weather station in Shawbury. Now at 6 pm it’s 26 degrees in the house, but there’s a pleasant breeze in the garden, as there has been all day. Tomorrow, temperatures begin to fall, and in fact by next Sunday it will be 12 – 15 degrees C, this according to YR the Norwegian Met Office, which is pretty good on UK weather. And this may also mark the beginning of rain. At last! Yesterday, we had a few sprinkles and the plants all stood up tall, as if expecting a good drench. They were duly teased.
And so I’ll round this up with a shot of the snapdragons that have flowered heroically all through June, and with not a drop of water from me. They are pretty much over now and making lots of seed. I think I’ll give them their heads. Next June I could have a whole bed of snapdragons. How wonderful would that be.
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The Changing Seasons is hosted monthly by Brian at bushboys world and Ju-Lyn at Touring My Backyard. Please pay them a visit.
Beautiful garden and love to see a bit of midsummer celebration 🙂
Many thnks Ilze.
Your garden is picture perfect, and bursting with colour and variety. A haven for wildlife, I’ll wager? All credit to you and Mister G.
Sooo envious of your warm weather.
It’s cold enough over here that my teeth continue to chatter even after I put them in the glass next to my bed.
😉
Ha! Teeth in a glass! It is quite warm today, but cooling tomorrow and through the week. More like English summer weather – as in cool.
I just read of record temps at Wimbledon.
My bil in Portugal said it touched 35 at his spot today.
you are right..A lot more going on in your space then we have imagined..Beautiful color every where.
Thanks, Beverly.
Record temps – concrete and tarmac have much to answer for.
Bishop’s Castle is certainly a lively place to live. And your flowers are beautiful. Your house is coming along. When you buy something that old, there is a lot of renovation and replacement to do.
Thanks, Anne. We’re hopefully nearing the end of the ‘doing up’.
Such a beautiful garden. 🌸
Thank you.
My pleasure.
So much to love here Tish. I must get snapdragons next year. And looking at the size of your oregano I must find space in the ground for mine which is still in a container.
I also have it sprawling over the ugly low wall beside the drive where we had the mains trench. It’s such a cheery cheering plant.
A wonderful uplifting garden post Tish 🌸💮🪷🌹🌺🌼🪻 The flowers are exquisite, all of them. It is so good to have so much colour to look at. There must be lots of insects and other beasties scurrying about in a wonderland.
I just love the shed too.
Thanks for joining in The Changing Seasons 😀
Hi Brian. Will pass on the shed love to OH. Inspired by a railway waggon and made from quite a few recycled parts from last year’s roof replacement. And yes, lots of insects in the garden, including some very tiny biting entities that I’m not too pleased with 😉
I did get the train vibe about the shed. A great job and made from recycled bits makes it even better.
Yes, I have some that I don’t enjoy in my garden too 😁
You’re never alone with a plant, Tish. BC suits you admirably. I imagine you’re happy with the move xx
Thanks, Jo. Yes, we’re glad we came here. But need to stop house fettling and join something!
Go to it, Tish! Get in the thick of it xx
Incidentally, a gasping 37C today, which is quite ridiculous, even by the sea. But Lisa tells me it was 31 in Nottingham. Changing seasons, indeed!
Hopefully the heat will subside. It’s all over grey skies here this morning.
It did my heart good to wander round your garden with you Tish. Such a beautiful floriferous (love that word) display. And everything is flourishing. Has your rain arrived yet? I remember what it was like, as a gardener, worrying about lack of rain.
So happy to have you visiting the garden, Pauline. And no. No rain yet, though completely grey sky today and very much cooler so far. We might have a bit of rain later in the week.
What a delicious garden you have created. I expected nothing less. I often wish I had a garden small enough for me to manage. The land isn’t well purposed for this. This time of year, though, it’s amazing. Wild and crazy and full of color. This is the best part of summer I think.
Yes, when the natural world bursts into colour – always good for the spirits.
a glorious June, simply stunning and what merriment too
Cheers, Becky – June with bells and happy Morris people 🙂
Te House on Crutches was indeed closed when we were there. We’ll hve tp pt that right sometime. Gosh you certainly get value from your garden. It’s got twice as much happily living there as many gardens twice its size. Green-fingered, both of you!
The House on Crutches is a dear little repository of local artifacts and memorabilia. Not very sophisticated perhaps museum-wise, but much loved by all who look after it.
Unsophidticated is often best. There’s a museum in Nidderdale to which this word applies, but it’s a delight, and prompts conversation and whoops of recognition in everyone who spends time there.
It’s rather eqivalent exploring what great gran had in the attic. Always engaging.
Exactly!
So lovely to see your garden and village in all its splendour – fabulous. 🌸
Thank you, Flavia.
Absolutely beautiful!
Thanks, Jennie.
You’re welcome, Tish.
Nice post
Hello! I found your blog through the Changing Seasons. Your flowers and garden are so beautiful – I loved looking at them. And that last photo of Bishop’s Castle down Main Street looked as pretty as a postcard! What a lovely place you call home!
Many thanks for that lovely comment.