July has stayed hot and dry from start to finish, albeit with some slightly cooler temperatures this week. All around Bishop’s Castle the fields lie shorn, stubble baked to a crisp, and paling to the colour of Jersey cream. The harvest, then, is done, and a good month early; the grain shipped off to store or contract buyers. There will be no need to dry it. Moisture is the very thing that’s lacking, and so the talk is of lower yields and big farm losses. That said, not everyone has done badly. Some farmers have produced a good crop. Much depends on when they last had rain and the lay of their land. Also on varieties grown. Wheat is a grass with resilience ‘baked in’; it has deep delving roots.

Meanwhile, the Farrells have had the luxury of spending most of July in the garden. They have kept company with Gatekeeper butterflies, Sedge Browns, Painted Ladies, Cabbage Whites and a  host of bees and hover flies. There’ve been a lot of moths around too, including the day-flying moth in the header photo (ID not fathomed, but whatever it is, it clearly likes phlox nectar).

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The plant-life has just about coped with the drought, some varieties better than others, and especially those that were well mulched. In fact, the flock of self-grown sunflowers have positively thrived, and quite left to their own devices. The tallest one is 8 feet tall and with 8 flower heads. The gardener, though, has grown a bit weary with tending and watering. But on the big plus side we’ve truly enjoyed weeks of eating outdoors, shaded by the backdoor wing. Having supper outside every evening is definitely not a guaranteed summer occurrence in England. We’ve been feeling as if we’re on a foreign holiday, and all without transiting an airport. Triple bonus indeed.

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There have been some good vegetables grown this month too. I’ve tried to stop treating our smallish back garden like an allotment plot and concentrate on growing things that work (given pigeon, sparrow, flea beetle and butterfly predation). So we have courgettes, French and runner beans, potatoes (not too many), tomatoes, baby cucumbers, herbs and salad greens. So far so good.

And hopes for August? Please weather gods can we have some nice and steady falls of good summer rain.

 

Copyright 2026 Tish Farrell

 

The Changing Seasons July 2026  Please call in on our hosts Ju-Lyn  and Brian at Bushboys World