Wins. Losses. Misery. Joy. It's been an emotional rollercoaster. I'm taking stock of the Flower Garden during the hottest driest summer ever encountered in my little slice of Oxfordshire.
The challenge in my north wales garden is to find plants that have survived the drought in an unprecedented good summer that will also survive the predicted wild wet winter - Iām on a hill but many of my plants sit in running water in the worst conditions. Great article thank you
I know it well. My grandparents lived in Rhosgadfan. Challenging conditions is an understatement š It going to be really difficult to find plants can cope with these extremes.
My roses, geraniums, echinacea and nepeta also thrived this year. I think nepeta is such an underrated plant!! It looks lovely all summer and attracts so many pollinators.
Loss of plants for some of us is the loss of an enormous amount of money. They will not easily be replaced. This must be hard on a great many people - and challenging to acceptance.
Goes without saying, Iām sure. I really donāt want to think about the losses here in Ā£s. As for gardens that open to the public and need to maintain critically high standardsā¦
Iām embracing radical acceptance. We do not have control. Itās either accept this horrid state of affairs and better prepare for the future or despair.
This is a terrific article. I appreciate your empathy re people with smaller gardens. The loss of plants is distressing and I have felt very disheartened. I garden on a spit of flint so you can imagine that any watering done here is disappearing down a āblack holeā. Your notes and lovely clear photos have buoyed me up and will help me make plans for the autumn. Thank you.
Thank you so much Suzie. Very much appreciated. It has been so demoralising, hasnāt it. Iām on a slope which makes watering so much fun! Really glad the post bolstered your spirits. Youāre not alone. Please donāt despair. Iām sure the webosphere will soon be awash with drought resistant/tolerant inspiration!
My roses planted in April have all been fine and the ones planted 4 years ago have had their best summer ever. There will be more roses in our future!! Sanguisorba of all varieties has all been fine. All persicarias, hydrangeas basically anything that needs water. Dead. I have an unnamed salvia (I think itās a gregii) which is living its absolute best life. Dogwoods seem to be fine. All of my native wildflowers seem to be fine. Gaura is thriving as is the nepeta. I have a witch hazel at the front that was already struggling that is looking very crispy and may not survive a move but shouldnāt have been planted there in the first place. Do you know what is doing wonderfully? Bindweed. Bindweed is having an absolute party in this weather ššš. The veg beds have been a total disaster. I am going to have to put a drip hose irrigation system in next year if I am going to grow veg. Lots of lessons learned. I am going to learn to propagate next year to keep the costs down. New beds to create this year and they are getting planted in autumn. It also (finally) occurred to me the 25 meters of laurel hedging my neighbours have planted is sucking up what little moisture there is so everything along my boundary fence is really struggling. I am focusing on what spring bulbs to order to console myself š¬.
The challenge in my north wales garden is to find plants that have survived the drought in an unprecedented good summer that will also survive the predicted wild wet winter - Iām on a hill but many of my plants sit in running water in the worst conditions. Great article thank you
I know it well. My grandparents lived in Rhosgadfan. Challenging conditions is an understatement š It going to be really difficult to find plants can cope with these extremes.
The notebook is a really useful exercise!
My roses, geraniums, echinacea and nepeta also thrived this year. I think nepeta is such an underrated plant!! It looks lovely all summer and attracts so many pollinators.
Couldnāt agree more. Itāll be first on any plant list for me. Bees adore it. Flowers for months. Fragrance. Tough. Whatās not to love?!
Loss of plants for some of us is the loss of an enormous amount of money. They will not easily be replaced. This must be hard on a great many people - and challenging to acceptance.
Goes without saying, Iām sure. I really donāt want to think about the losses here in Ā£s. As for gardens that open to the public and need to maintain critically high standardsā¦
Iām embracing radical acceptance. We do not have control. Itās either accept this horrid state of affairs and better prepare for the future or despair.
I get what youāre saying. And you know we open..
I understand not digging for veggies. But why would anyone dig a flower garden?
This is a terrific article. I appreciate your empathy re people with smaller gardens. The loss of plants is distressing and I have felt very disheartened. I garden on a spit of flint so you can imagine that any watering done here is disappearing down a āblack holeā. Your notes and lovely clear photos have buoyed me up and will help me make plans for the autumn. Thank you.
Thank you so much Suzie. Very much appreciated. It has been so demoralising, hasnāt it. Iām on a slope which makes watering so much fun! Really glad the post bolstered your spirits. Youāre not alone. Please donāt despair. Iām sure the webosphere will soon be awash with drought resistant/tolerant inspiration!
My roses planted in April have all been fine and the ones planted 4 years ago have had their best summer ever. There will be more roses in our future!! Sanguisorba of all varieties has all been fine. All persicarias, hydrangeas basically anything that needs water. Dead. I have an unnamed salvia (I think itās a gregii) which is living its absolute best life. Dogwoods seem to be fine. All of my native wildflowers seem to be fine. Gaura is thriving as is the nepeta. I have a witch hazel at the front that was already struggling that is looking very crispy and may not survive a move but shouldnāt have been planted there in the first place. Do you know what is doing wonderfully? Bindweed. Bindweed is having an absolute party in this weather ššš. The veg beds have been a total disaster. I am going to have to put a drip hose irrigation system in next year if I am going to grow veg. Lots of lessons learned. I am going to learn to propagate next year to keep the costs down. New beds to create this year and they are getting planted in autumn. It also (finally) occurred to me the 25 meters of laurel hedging my neighbours have planted is sucking up what little moisture there is so everything along my boundary fence is really struggling. I am focusing on what spring bulbs to order to console myself š¬.