It’ll be no surprise to anyone that the hot weather from last month continued into July, with a heatwave forecast including a red weather warning and temperatures of 40 degrees. Not something any of us really expected, nor enjoyed I’m sure. My garden definitely didn’t!
At the start of the month I was keen to add some more colour to the pots so headed off to our local garden centre. Thankfully most of these plants have survived the warm summer remarkably well, and I’m hopeful that the non-bedding plants will be able to recover even more once the temperatures cool (assuming that the temperatures will cool, that is).
Last month the long awaited tree work took place and it was glorious to have so much light and ‘head space’ in the garden. All of the trees that were cut have since sprouted new growth, and are looking much less bare than they were. One of the sycamores especially, but we’ll come onto that - for now, keep this image in your mind.
The acer which we brought back from my FIL’s garden has had a couple of spurts of new growth, and it’s the reddest of all the leaves - colour, which is most welcome and can be enjoyed every time we use the patio. Considering the plant needed to be temporarily repotted and pruned for transport, it’s picked up and is now thriving. So much so that I’ve needed to turn the pot so that it doesn’t become too one-sided.
Our grass is coping less well with the weather. But reassuringly lots of the grass in the gardens around ours now have a similar hue, as does the grass in Greenwich Park and on Blackheath, so that’s something. I’m sure it will recover once there is rain, and plenty of it, but that didn’t arrive in July. Storms and flash floods have been forecast for August, but it wasn’t until the day I posted this that we had what I’d call ‘proper’ rain.
Elsewhere in the garden, and in sight of the patio, the hydrangeas are flowering. They’ve grown flower heads bigger than your fist, which have turned from green to the loveliest white. I’m so glad I opted for the ‘Annabelle’ it’s definitely a variety I’d have in a future garden.
Despite heading to the garden centre for pops of colour, the antirrhinums I chose were a zesty yellowy-green, but even so they couldn’t help but make me smile. Alongside the rich cerise of the ‘everlasting’ sweet peas, it’s quite a contrast but one I’m keen on.
The pear tree at the rear of the garden is full of pears. Which sounds more exciting that it’s likely to be. In all the time we’ve been here, we’ve not had one edible pear - they’re rock hard, even the squirrels reject them. But not until they’ve taken at least one bite, of course. They’re probably cooking pears, but for me it’s just good to watch them grow.
The much forecast high temperatures arrived, with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees celsius. Whatever your views on the heatwave and/or climate change, here in the UK we’re just not built for those kinds of temperatures. MOH was very much of the ‘how hot can it be’ opinion to start with, and after a brief foray onto our north facing garden’s patio, quickly returned and declared it to be ‘hotter than Barbados out there’ and therefore unsuitable for al fresco dining!
For the warmest of those two days we followed the advice on opening doors and windows early, then closing them and curtains during the peak warm hours. Even much later in the evening, it was still very warm and while a few spots of rain did fall - and were briefly refreshing - they’d pretty much dried up before they hit the ground.
Our plants were also drooping, and they’ve continued to droop and scorch as the thankfully-not-quite-as-high temperatures have continued. Seeing our usually perky fatsia with scorched and droopy leaves is very much a first. Of all the plants, in those two days it looked very much as I felt!
Throughout July we’ve continued to water our pots and the shrubs which seem to be affected most, giving them a good drenching every few days for the pots, or when needed for the shrubs. We’ve adapted how we wash up, using a bowl so that the water can be used in the garden too. Every time rain is forecast the garden trugs are positioned around the garden to collect rainwater, but not all of the rain forecast has arrived so it’s not been successful at all.
Despite this, the plants continue to amaze us - with pops of colour from the roses, bedding plants and sweet peas appearing for a few days then retreating to replenish themselves.
But most of all, it’s been the pollarded sycamores that have been the most amazing and adaptable. Though they clearly have deeper root systems, the difference in the photo here and the one earlier in the post is almost unbelievable isn’t it? No rain to speak of, and already they’re putting on a good show of fresh growth. I’ve been taking photos of them every few days, and feel an Instagram reel may be coming on at some point, as throughout August they’ve continued their growth.
Isn’t nature amazing?
