Fruit, Veg, Flowers and Slugs

It has been a while since my last post for one reason or another so I have quite a bit to report on.  I mentioned in my April posts some of the experiments I had undertaken for the growing season, taking Olive Tree cuttings and sowing Clover into my lawn; so far so good with both I am happy to report. I have two Olive Tree cuttings that appear to be coming along nicely; it is of course a slow process as they are so slow growing, but two of the three cuttings appear to be forming roots. The Clover has germinated pretty well and I plan to add to it over the coming weeks hopefully leading to a lawn that is as much, if not more, clover than grass by 2026. I have also sown some Purple Creeping Thyme seeds as another little experiment to add to the garden all being well. The seeds were sown thinly onto a potting mix of peat-free compost and perlite in a seed tray and gently pressed into the mix to ensure good contact; the seeds were not covered with any further compost or vermiculite, ...

Say it quietly, whisper it even, but it appears that summer has arrived. Following the wettest spring in nearly forty-years that big yellow ball in the sky has finally poked through the gloom; well at least for a few days.  It is that wonderful time of the year, the middle of summer. Astronomical summer began on Thursday 20th June 2024 and ends on Sunday 22nd September 2024 if you are interested in those sorts of things. I have spent as much time as possible lately simply just being in the garden; not that easy a task at times with the rain we had in July! I have mentioned before in this column that I strongly believe there is little point in having a lovely garden if you never really get to enjoy it, and now is prime time to enjoy it, weather permitting.  In between the occasional glass of something nice in the sun or a snooze in a chair there are plenty of things to be doing on your plot at this time of year. Watering the lawn has not been a concern of late, far from it, but...