Strawberries and sweet peas

Well, that was the longest time away from the garden in the growing season.   Three long weeks later I have returned.   And what have I returned to? A thicket. That wonderful combination of weeds, plants, clever wildflowers that have grown about two feet, and somewhere under the brambles, white currants.

Thanks to the very kind minstrations of Leslie, Jean Daniel, Alice and Estelle, I even have two veggie gardens.   And Leslie and Andrew are babysitting my smallest of plants that were never going to survive this mad warm weather.

But I was delighted to see that the seedlings I had placed out on the north side of the potting shed are all alive.   Poor Jean Daniel, he must have cursed having an obsessive gardener as his close neighbour.   He must have watered every day to get the plants this lush.

Some time in the past three weeks – and I think it was last Saturday – we had 20 mms of rain. So that was probably a life saver for the plants on the outer reaches of the hose.

I didn’t leave London till lunchtime, so only drove up at 730pm.   Time enough to do a quick lap around the place, water the box balls which are alive but sulking. Water the roses and lilies in the courtyard, and pick a bunch of sweet peas for the house.

Oh yes, and devour a handful of exquisitely ripe strawberries.

It’s dark now, so I shall brood indoors, assembling my packages of thank you gifts for the waterers, and write a long, long list for the day ahead.