The stars in this week’s sun-baked garden have surely been the sweet peas. This when you might expect the heat to quickly wilt their delicate petals. No so. Over the past week I’ve cut one and two bunches a day. The house smells delicious. And yet back in the spring I’d been complaining about pigeons chomping all the main stems. The rotters were using the obelisk struts as convenient take-away perches. But it hasn’t mattered, and I haven’t even bothered to water them. But I did plant them out quite early in March, and I can only conclude they made some very strong, deep roots.

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The latest rose to bloom is St. Cecilia, a repeat flowering David Austin small shrub creation with hints of myrrh fragrance. She’s growing on top of the back garden wall, where we have a wing canopy tethered, (between the wall and the kitchen double doors). We’ve been enjoying the soothing rose scent while eating outside.

The heat certainly didn’t suit some flowers. The blue geraniums began fading fast and the starry petalled astrantia soon turned crispy. This called for some general tidying. And while I was deadheading around verbascum  Lavender Lass I found this…

…a mullein moth caterpillar. I’ve known them wreak havoc in verbascum chaixii Wedding Candles, and also in the tall wild flower mullein, so I was pleased to see it hadn’t eaten too much of Lavender Lass. She should flower again later this year. The caterpillar, though, is the most spectacular beastie, especially when I find it turns into something resembling a piece of crumpled bark.

The front garden has been surviving hours of full-on sun for over a week now, so I’ve been very glad of all the Strulch mulching that I did last autumn. I’ve only had to water a few newly planted out annuals and also the two small raised beds with the dwarf crab apple trees in them. Two plants that have otherwise been coming into their own with no attention from me are: Achillea Moonglow and Oregano Kent Beauty.

The oregano is trailing from the raised bed to the left of the Achillea (above). I also have some cascading over the ugly front wall where it keeps company with the recumbent rosemary. It’s thanks to Jude at Cornwall in Colours that I learned of its existence, and then to discover that there are other lovely ornamental oreganos. It will keep flowering now into autumn, the colours growing more vivid through the season. And of course, it’s also appealing to insects.

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And finally, ‘hot from the press’ and opening just this morning, a very striking lily. I can’t remember what she’s called. She was anyway an on-line purchasing mistake late last summer, the plant seller getting their orders confused. When this was pointed out, he told me to keep the bulbs and plant them. I have to say, I wasn’t altogether thrilled. I’m not very keen on lilies. And I’m certainly not keen on the lily beetles that too often come with them. So I put them in pot and forgot them.

Which just goes to show. I shouldn’t have been so mean-spirited about an unexpected gift, even if I did find a nasty red beetle on it yesterday.

Happy gardening, folks, however it comes!

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Copyright 2026 Tish Farrell

 

Six on Saturday Please hop over to Jim’s garden and see what’s happening there.