Gwynne Hetherington

The next few days we might have some light rain, hopefully rain followed by dry days with sunny spells for a week then hopefully more light rain. The daytime temperatures will vary between 17-19C degrees and nighttime temperatures around 10C degrees.

We have had some challenging times with the warm and sunny days these past weeks to cope with but we get what we get and work with the conditions, maybe with less success due to lack of water.

August and September are such a busy time in our garden, always on our to do list every two to three days is deadheading of the Roses, Buddleias, Dahlias, Cosmos and the flower borders. While I am in the flower borders I weed, while deadheading the plants that I don’t want any seed to fall from. That saves an extra trip! With the vegetables it is every three to four days that we pick the Broccoli, French Beans, Tomatoes, Sweetcorn and Courgette and then process the produce as we see fit, our freezers are reaching full capacity! The Plums are ready to pick and the Apples need to be stored somewhere dry and cool.

We have cut out the old Raspberry canes but still need to thin the individual plant to three canes for next year and tie those canes to the wire framework.

I have started to collect seed from the annual Poppies and there will be more seed to collect from other plants around the garden to sow. There are lots of selfseeded young plants in and around the borders to lift and pot on for next year, to fill any gaps or sell on our garden open days for charity. The Strawberries have runners which when rooted will get potted up to safeguard for future plants. There are one or two Salvias I love from which I will take cuttings and bring them on to bulk up that variety.

David has the patience to try and clear our pond from the Duckweed because every netful of scooped material has to be carefully checked and double-checked for the many young newts he catches and they have to be returned back to the pond, eventually he gives up until another day! Soon, before the leaves fall from the nearby trees we will net the pond over to prevent the leaves getting into the water.

The birds are finding enough food elsewhere as the seed we give them is wasted and lying on the ground, so for now we are not feeding any birdseed but still giving them the peanuts and fat balls until we get cooler nights, then we will start feeding them the seed again. We are putting dog food out for the hedgehog as we have come across signs that one is visiting our garden which would be so wonderful as we love those prickly friends dearly.

Our mini Flower meadows have done wonderfully this year but the proof of the pudding is, will the meadow return next year after we cut or pull the spent flowers in a few weeks time and let the seeds drop and leave it to nature?

We are thrilled to see the Butterflies come back these past two weeks or so after being absent throughout the summer, hopefully they will be able to develop in their cycle and we see them early next summer.

Maybe it is a good time to buy or order seeds and bulbs before suppliers run out of the stock we are after! One way or another our garden lifts our sprits as soon as we step into it to enjoy and discover nature’s wonders.

The week or two ahead look unsettled with rain showers and sunny intervals. The day-time temperatures will vary between 17-20C degrees and night-time temperatures 11 or 12C degrees, winds will vary from direction but should remain moderate.

We certainly had a challenging last few weeks, very dry, little or no rain, light winds and very warm temperatures. The only positive of that period was that the lawn did not need to see the lawn mower! Now though the rains have arrived not much but the grass is growing yet again and greening up. With more rain to come it might be enough for the vegetables and the swelling of the fruit trees but we will keep an eye on our edibles and water them from our water butts which is preferable to tap water.

The dry period has taught me a lot about the plants we have in our garden. In years gone by we would have had the sprinkler out on the flower borders and the vegetable beds. In actual fact using the hose pipe I spend a fraction of time and water the plants that need watering which are not that many and with the vegetables too doing it by hose I water the plant directly and don’t waste water over the whole bed.

This time of year I look at the flower beds and see what works, where there is too much of one plant or if a plant would be suited elsewhere, I make notes what is to be moved etc. because when the time for planting in the autumn comes I would probably miss a number of them.

We have been successful with our wildflower meadows and there have been a number of insects, sadly no butterflies but the colours are very vivid. We have seen a lonely Red Admiral and a Grasshopper and in the evenings there are the bats to watch on their hunt for night flying moths. The gardens are vital and just as important as the natural world for keeping birds insects and mammals.

We are stopping the growth of the Tomatoes as they are reaching the height to stop them growing. Still plenty of deadheading of flowers to do daily, we need to cut back the new growth of the White and Red Currants and Gooseberry to two to five buds as well as pruning the Weigelias back to new growth further down the stems and remove the oldest stems.

We do feel privileged to have a garden which keeps us happy in mind and active in body. All we can do is respect and live in harmony with nature. Enjoying this month’s flowers and the bounty of the vegetable plots, there is nothing more enjoyable than digging up the first shaw of Potatoes and having home grown produce for your dinner.

Haugh Garden is an Open Scottish Garden that helps raise money for charity

Forecast for the next few days looks to be unsettled with showers and sunny intervals followed by days of mainly cloudy skies with sunny spells. Daytime temperatures between 17-21 C degrees and nighttime temperatures around 13 C degrees and with light winds for the coming week or two.

What a month we have had with dry, warm and light winds so the light rains were such a welcome sight a few days back and the plants lapped the moisture up!! When it becomes so very warm we need to wet the greenhouse floor to keep the moisture level more acceptable to the plants. The vegetables get watered as do any sagging plants in the dry weather.

So far in the past 2-3 weeks we have not needed to mow our lawns which gives us a chance to catch up with edging of the grass. There is plenty of deadheading of Roses, Sweetpeas and perennials and with the small amount of grass clippings it is ideal for a good compost concoction.

Our flower borders are coming to their best with the colour and buzzing of insects and scent of the roses blooming, even the star performers of the Lupins which are now in their second flush with the smaller flower heads. I am still keeping an eye open for the Red Lily beetle which when spotted don’t last long! We have had an attack of Sawfly on the Solomon’s Seal with many, many caterpillars crawling all over the plants and have sprayed the plants all over with a healthy dose of washing up liquid.

Our wildflower mix areas are coming on far better then expected and we are hoping for a colourful display, attracting a variety of insects which be interesting to identify the different species. In the polytunnel we have two big toads and to our surprise a big frog too. Thrushes and small birds venture into the tunnel looking for insects. All is growing well there and now that the Tomatoes are flowering, a weekly feed of Tomorite is in order and also making sure we nip out the young side shoots below the flower truss. The Tomorite or liquid Seaweed is applied to the leeks and onions outside in the vegetable bed. It is the first time we are feeding the leeks and onions as we determined to get a good crop. Our Comfrey ‘dung’ should be ready to use and we will add that to the leeks and onions when I can remember to do so.

The Wisteria needs the cutting back of the straggly long shoots but we will have to wait as there is a birds nest with young ones in it. In a week or two the hedge will need a prune on the inside so that we keep the pathway open.

The time has come to pick Strawberries every few days sharing with a cheeky mouse or two! This will be followed by the Raspberries and by the look of them there will be a good crop. This can’t be said for our Currant bushes and as for the Cherries the birds will be lucky to find any at all. We had plenty of blossom and I know the Bumblebees had a field day pollinating the flowers but nature surprises us all the time!

David has to regularly tend the pond by lifting out pond weed making sure to check his haul in his net and return the water snails, newts and dragonfly larvae back to the pond.

We appreciate all we find in our garden and try and make the most of its bounty. Hope all you gardeners and nature lovers have a happy and productive summer!

After some light showers for today, the week and beyond look to be cloudy with sunny spells with night-time temperatures around 10C degrees and day-time temperatures between 16-22C degrees with mainly southerly winds.

I can’t tell you how much joy the downpour from heaven, a few nights ago, gave us especially as some plants were looking drunk due to lack of water! The occasion needed to be photographed!

The garden is fairly coming on, the gaps in the borders, due to lost shrubs, have mostly been filled with annuals and plants from our nursery which needed to be planted out. The colours and scents are coming from the Hesperis, (Dame’s rocket) and the Lupins which fill the flower borders at the moment.

A lot of weeding has been done in the last weeks and the last leg is along the new hedge and the strawberry bed. Weeding of the vegetable beds will be a constant task for the coming week or two.

The potatoes are being earthed up and we are looking now for signs of the peas to come through after a poor first sowing germination rate. We had this problem with the peas and beans last year too so we are not sure where we are going wrong. An improvement must be found for the 2022 season. Saying that the carrots have had a great germination this year as last year we had to resow the gaps in the carrots rows!

We keep deadheading the Tulips, some of them have lasted until now and the Camassias too have finished flowering. Edging the lawn and cutting the grass is a weekly task as we cut sections of grass once a week and not the whole grass area all at once.

We are coming to the stage in our garden when we can take time out and enjoy the beauty of the coming changes of flowers and plants. We now find the time to visit other SGS gardens, which you can find online or in the “Yellow Book”, to fill our imagination and make new discoveries of plants and ideas and it is a great day out meeting and revisiting other garden lovers.

It is a special time of year to value the efforts and labour put into your garden, before the coming harvest of fruit and vegetables in a month or two! Enjoy the beauty surrounding you which is filled with birdsong and the humming of insects, what better way to lift ones spirits! If you get the chance have a go and hug a tree and listen and feel the life in your arms!

Happy gardening all!