Gardening through the warmest May and spring since records began

What a strange spring we have been experiencing this year. Apparently, we have just gone through the warmest May and spring since records began in 1884 provisional Met Office figures show; the figures especially influenced by high overnight temperatures over recent weeks compared to the norm. It was also the wettest spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record with some areas in the South receiving over a third more rain than would be expected. 

My garden is certainly in a different condition from what I would expect for this time of year, a number of plants flowering later, but there has been some success stories, nonetheless. The native Foxgloves have been particularly beautiful and stood up well to the wind and rain; I had one at nearly seven-feet tall. The climbing rose on the other hand, that is usually covered in blooms from late May through June, is noticeably less floriferous this year following the battering's that took through the winter winds and unpredictable spring. I actually had to replace the trellis it is tied to earlier in the year as it had been reduced to tatters in the storms. I will give it a good feed later in the year and the usual annual prune and it should be fine and covered in blooms again next year. The challenges Mother Nature throws at us from time to time are all a part of gardening and as nice as it would be if everything went to plan all the time, I am sure it would become a little boring after a while.    Feeding Thursday is once again a regular event in my garden now despite the amount of rain we have had. I feed all the plants every Thursday with a liquid feed to keep them healthy, especially important for those plants in pots as the nutrients in the compost will simply run out over time. Those in the beds and on the veg patch are also given a feed, with  liquid seaweed being my go to for just about everything other than the tomato plants that receive a special tomato feed. As I am growing tomato varieties in the greenhouse this year that can produce some huge fruits, those plants actually get two feeds a week on Monday and Thursday. 

Some of the veg does appear to have enjoyed the weird and wonderful spring with the Greyhound Cabbages and Red Onions are in rude health it appears and growing strongly. The Parsnip and Carrot sowings I made on the veg patch suffered with a poor germination rate which I can only assume can be put down to the unpredictable weather. I have been sowing some extra seed here and there in the spaces between seedlings and hopefully will still have a bountiful harvest come autumn and winter. The Courgette plant sulked for some time earlier this year, with hindsight I plated that out too early, bit is coming along now and I picked the first Courgette just this week. The Runner Beans are beginning to make their way strongly up the cane wigwams now, they also sulked somewhat in the wind and rain a few weeks back, with the first blooms now appearing and offering the promise of beans to come. The Potatoes, Casablanca, a very tasty early variety and Pink Fir Apple a long knobbly salad type, planted in 30-litre pots appear healthy with plenty of foliage. Having planted them on the 10th march they should be ready from any day now and I did scrape back some soil in one pot a couple of days back to reveal some golden yellow jewels there waiting for me. I may take the plunge this weekend and pull some up; the first potatoes of the year a certainly one of the great joys of the vegetable patch. Another joy of the veg patch are this first Strawberries of the season. I am growing Strawberry Florence in three concrete urns this year, three-plants in each urn. These are considered as a late season variety, ready to harvest in June and July, and as I should be picking the first fruits in the next few days they are bang on schedule despite the mild and wet spring.

All being well it will be homegrown spuds and strawberries as part of the menu over the weekend, happy days.

Cheers 🍺