The gaura and grasses in summer

No flowers. No berries. No beans No flowers. No berries. No beans. I’m trying to offer a bit more variety in the picture department today.  That isn’t easy as my actual gardening is incredibly limited.

I woke at 6am this morning and it was just bliss. Coolish, a light breeze, no blasting sun.  The first thing I did was to take photos. And then get out the hose.

The automatic watering system is dripping merrily from 6am to 8am. It’s my alarm clock as I hear the water roaring through the tap in the basement directly underneath our bedroom.

I also think I heard the most tremendous battle of carnivore against small creature near the lavender directly outside the bedroom window.  It was screechy. It woke me up.  There was a battle.

I suppose the carnivore won. I was too tired to actually get up and throw open the shutters to have a look.  I don’t think it was Artur as he might have chirped and meowed with delight afterwards.  Perhaps a pine marten.

But it was the signal.

What I want to show today is the oak bank directly above the courtyard.  You might recall I landscaped it this spring. And planted my sown from seed gaura flowers. And eragrostis curvula grasses.  I mulched between the narrow rows, and I left them to it.

Now bear in mind we are enduring / enjoying the hottest June and July in years. No rain for a month and temperatures at blast furnace intensity.

And I have only watered this bank once since May.

I am delighted by the tenacity of these drought tolerant plants. It’s not a showy effect, but airy and breezy and it proves you can plant on almost solid rock and still have some sort of garden.

Best of all, Nicolas arrived at 7am to do the last bit of strimming. And that included the area surrounding this bank. Festuca glauca and brambles are the only other things that grow.

Actually the biggest surprise with this drought is how well the little American oaks are doing here on the bank too.  They are still titchy, but the deep green looks lush and not the crisp and desperate leaves of last year.

So now I can show off the whole summer look of the oak bank. Quite pleased.