Too hot

Well summer has most definitely arrived.Jobs have had to be found in the shade.One of the advantages of this dry spell is that the grass has been slower to grow which has meant that less time has had to be spent on the mower.Applications of weedkiller have been very effective and the wildflowers which are a tougher breed have flourished.
I went to Archies field on Wednesday to do some weeding for habitataid.co.uk the thistles need dealing with before they set seed.The fields were glorious - such a contrast to the A303 which they border.I do so remember
 in my previous career thundering up and down motorways looking out into the fields and envying someone working in the fields without a care in the world.I tried not to look too smug.Actually it was too hot and noisy I don't know how all the wildlife put up with it,they must be more resilient than we think.
The fields are looking superb and I hope with the sign facing the road it will spread the word.The approach to the field is along a concrete runway with no hedges either side and no other person in sight. it was so hot and dry it reminded me of being in the south of France in the 70's we'll be growing grapes next.Oh but we are.Near where I live is quite a sizeable vineyard which is looking pretty good.If it carries on like this it will be a vintage year.After a quiet morning I drove back past Castle Cary station and saw all the kids queing for buses to get to Glastonbury just up the road it was funny how I had been reminded of France all those years ago and here was another one of thirty odd years ago, a gang of us with rucksacks and tents and not a care in the world.When I got home I got an email from one of my friends who was with me on that trip and the one to the south of France - he was worried about his son going and that he was going to be ok.How time passes.

Problems with Trees

It is surprising to me just how much damage is caused to the trees during the summer.This last week we have,unusually, had a wind from the north which with all the trees as leafy as they are going to get, has caused a fair amount of damage.If the branches would break off cleanly it would be bad enough but when they tear a couple of feet of bark, disfiguring the whole of the side of a tree it is disastrous.I had a particularly bad one to deal with right above our greenhouse.It took ages, I had to rope it so that when it fell it did not crash into the greenhouse.In the new border we have a self sown horse chestnut that loses a major branch every year or so it seems.This year it lost another large branch and took out a Cotinus Coggyra Purpurea  which was in its way.It did not kill it' but it gave it a major pruning.

While I had the chainsaw and the tractor handy I decided to put the Robinia in the front garden out of its misery.This is a job I have meant to do for at least three years but while there has been life, albeit pretty feeble, I have left it alone.The trouble is it is now under the canopy of a spreading and beautiful copper beech which has left it lacking light and water.The books will tell you that Robinias are ideal for dry poor soil and will tolerate shade- but there are limits and this poor tree has been pushed too far.It has gradually lost more foliage each year and this dry spring has left it with only one branch with foliage.The good news is that it made a super bonfire which burnt all the grass clippings for the last couple of weeks.I hate cutting down live trees but this one was becoming an eyesore.
We have had the best crop of strawberries this year that I can remember.My wife has concocted a recipe using them in muffins which are superb- let me know if you want the recipe!Great just out of the oven but be careful as the strawberry chunks take ages to cool down as my blistered tongue attests.It will be rasberries soon - no wonder I'm not skinny.

Abundance or glut

All of a sudden the vegetable garden is full of produce.I was very proud earlier this week to dig up some new potatoes destined for the table at the www.habitataid.co.uk wildflower course - I hope they went down well.The last course for ponds seems only a little while ago ,but then we were looking at bare plots now they are full of ready or nearly ready fruit and vegetables.Time passes so quickly.One of the jobs I did very early this year was place stakes around all the delphiniums and boy has that paid off .Most of them are now well over six foot tall and looking superb.It is so much easier and effective to do them earlier.I must pencil into the diary to do them the same next year as the results are worth it as they then grow unchecked.There is nothing worse than wrestling with stakes and string to check plants that have gone over and the results never look very good no matter how hard you try.The same with peonies and alstromeiria.We seem to be back to watering all the time the rain, though a help did not last long enough.It has speeded up the grass growth which has left me mowing most of the week and looks as if next week will be much the same.
This morning we went up to the National Trust place Stourhead for a walk.In their walled garden they have surrounded their brassica plot with a copper pipe laid around and beer traps inside to get rid of the slugs.I have read about this but this is the first time I have seen it used.I must try and find out later how effective this has been.

Breakdowns and aggravation

Why does the hot weather make everything break down or does it seem worse when you are hot and bothered.When I am busy an unforseen disruption can be really irritating (it actually involved cursing and throwing things - but I 've calmed down now.)Punctures are particularly bad as there is never a good time for them to happen.It is not so bad if it is my beloved Iseki tractor( see picture) which is so old the tyres come off the rims easily and the punctures can be repaired there and then - ten minutes and you are back on the road.The new Mitsibushi tractor and the John Deere mower are a different matter - the tyres are so tight you have to take them to a tyre depot and on a Saturday evening just forget it. So feeling grumpy I thought I would do some watering and lo and behold the tap exploded - a perished seal which eventually I repaired with ptfe and rubber bands after an hour of sweating and cursing because the nut was too tight to loosen easily.
Once I had calmed down though I went for a walk round the garden with the camera and a glass of beer and felt much better.Alchemilla mollis is almost a weed here but at this time of year looks fresh and gorgeous as a backdrop to the lupins.It is such a versatile plant and is able to grow just about anywhere you put it.The borders are looking great but its a shame the poppies don't last more than about a couple of days.
It looks as if the disaster with the sweet peas may be saved I made very late sowing which have germinated at last and I hope will catch up fairly quickly.