August...still in the high 30's!

Well its been hot and I must admit even after 3 years living here I still find it very difficult to find the energy to garden in this weather.
But I look at the plants doing their best to keep growing and cropping and I must admit I get a terrible feeling of guilt!





So I hang on in there, make a list of my chores and get out there between 7.30am-9.30am and after 7.30pm...




The morning glory seed I picked up from last years trip to Shabla on the coast puts out a fine display every morning at the back gate before the sun gets to hot..



...the colour is superb...it matches the house.....




The other flowers too are great first thing in the cool of the day....won't lie...no idea what either of these two are but they do well in this heat!






















The cherry tree we had to hack back severely a few months ago has come back to life thankfully. it was touch and go there for a while.I have been feeding it once every two weeks with a homemade horse manure liquid feeder and it seems to be doing the trick!













The bougainvillea is still happy enough in its pot outside....it really needs potting on now but it's started to flower again so I will leave it for a while...






















The veggies are doing incredibly well again despite the dry heat.The soya beans although did not come up 100% are fruiting beautifully.I do water them though twice a week now that the fruits have appeared...














and the peppers and aubergines are ready to eat now....though no tomatoes for me this year ..next year I shall definitely have a small greenhouse for them.





Although the sweetcorn I planted a little late will be another two weeks or more.I have been sampling the neighbours though and its delicious...can't wait for ours to be ready! I would definitely grow more next year ...it's easy ...low maintenance ....looks attractive and is yummy too!




I am still remembering to feed and water the birds every day and Vladi still wants to get out and about ...while Peggy ....
















well she's Peggy.....

Oh the heat!

"We go in withering July
To ply the hard incessant hoe;
Panting beneath the brazen sky
We sweat and grumble, but we go."
- Ruth Pitter, The Diehards

Well if the last few weeks are anything to go by , 35 degrees in the shade!, then we are in for a real scorcher of a July and we need to think seriously, for the garden and ourselves, of how to beat the heat! A few small steps can make all the difference.
Watering now everyday or second day can be tiring, time consuming and more importantly, costly! The best advice I can give is to water your plants deeply and less frequently. Regular hoeing and mulching will help retain moisture all over the garden and in your pots and tubs too.

We have a large plastic tub outside the kitchen door and every time I need to empty the washing up bowl I do so into it .Then at the end of every evening I water the flowers in turn with it. Water butts like this are a great way to conserve water and it’s a good idea to place them beneath your overflow pipes so when you are blessed with rain you can capture as much of it as possible!

Water at the coolest part of the day ideally around 8pm in the evening. Not only is there less chance of evaporation but it gives all the plants time to recuperate overnight and feel the full benefit of the water.
We also need to look after ourselves.
Some of you may have heard of the old Ozzy saying ‘Slip-Slop-Slap' slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat". Drink plenty of water. On average the recommended daily minimum is 2 litres but add another litre for each hour that you work out in the heat of the sun. Also remember we are all different and a high metabolism requires a higher intake of water. Take regular breaks in the shade to relax and sleep if your body tells you to.
Remember we need to keep cool and refreshed as we too can lose moisture rapidly and start to wilt!

Dry and hot it maybe but it's business as usual in the garden.....and still having to find time to harvest the crops...
The haricot beans have been picked and are drying out with the late onion crop.



I just love the colours of these beans...

















The blackberries are ripening...we picked 5lbs of fruit yesterday and that's just first pick...



















Peggy and I taking time in the shade...don't know which one of us looks the most exhausted!...

.








..and Vladi well he's more sensible, lying in the cool of the house....

June...Just Pics......

Well it's got hotter earlier this year than last....today it is set to be 36 plus!
It amazes me time and time again how the garden hangs on in there...while we hide in the cool indoors....
Here are a few pics ...

The flowers ...some planted by me....






















and others by the birds...I think....


















The Bourgainvillea is on it's second flowering already.....

















The sweet pea seeds my brother sent me from the UK are struggling a little in the heat ....they are just coming into flower but I am not sure if this heat keeps up if they will survive.....




















The first year roses I took cutting of myself are blooming nicely.Out of the 15 or so about 9 made it which I am very pleased with.This Autumn I will try taking double the cuttings I want ....


















The fruit garden is really doing well this year......
melons....

















The second year fruit trees are fruiting well this year already.We are really pleased with the apricot, some great fruit on that this year...



















The second year plum tree has also surprised us.....


















It's not all rosy though....the tomatoes are struggling again this year.It appears the whole village, possibly region , is having a bad time again with viruses this year.Even the seeds that claimed to be 'Anti virus'...50% of them have already died...























...but the courgettes, brussel sprouts, leeks.........





















aubergines,peppers.........




















..three types of broccoli.....






















and parsnips all doing well...........




















The big experiment for me this year was with Soya beans....they are slow growers but are looking OK at the moment......





















Some things are ready to harvest this month.We have already taken up all the Mouli and made a wicked relish with it! Yum !!will do that agian next year.

Now the Khol-rabi is ready to experiment with in the kitchen.........


















The Haricot beans are also ready for eating.....






















And most important of all the grapes......what a bumper year this will be.
If we carry on like this it won't be long before wine making time again!!!!!!

Busy in June!

Well it's all systems go in garden this month with everything seeming to ripen all at once!



The strawberries have been out for a few weeks now and have needed constant picking...we can't keep up with them this year and have given as much as we have potted and frozen!

The onions and garlic have been lifted and are drying nicely in the outhouse....the peas are ready to be pulled and in the next few days the morello cherries will be demanding attention...

The soya beans have finally started to come through, but its early days to report on any success.

The weeding too has taken up lots of time.We have had some great thunderstorms over the last few weeks, great for the veggies and the weeds too!


My garden slumbers in the winter, peaceful, quiet, weedfree.
It's tranquil in this setting, no weeds to be seen.
But comes the spring with its warmth and flowers delight
then the weeds poke out their ugly head, what a nightmarish site.
I pull, I scream, they reappear.
My husband says "Didn't we just do this last year, dear? "
My endless battle, it seems, I'm doomed not to win.
Is shooting your weeds considered a sin?

My Garden Slumbers
by Christine Blanksvard

I find at this time of year no sooner am I pulling them up than they are back and with a vengeance! Though remember not all weeds are bad, some are indeed a valuable natural asset to the garden. Again we are faced with the dilemma of whether to treat them naturally or attack them with chemicals.
But maybe it’s time we started looking at them in a different light.......How about eating them instead?

Dandelions for instance which are still grown commercially in France as a salad vegetable, are rich in minerals and young fresh leaves blend wonderfully into any salad. Apparently the roots when boiled make a caffeine free ‘coffee’, though I must admit I have not tried this one yet.

Fat Hen is high in iron protein, calcium and vitamin B, great for the vegetarians amongst us. It makes an excellent spinach substitute.

Nettles, everyone’s nightmare in the garden but this one is truly amazing. This plant has properties too numerous to mention them all but here’s a few; good for bladder infections, cleanses the kidneys, relieves mucous, helps in arthritis and rheumatic pain and a great antioxidant. You can use the tender tops as you would spinach, our neighbours make a very tasty soup out of them. My favourite is nettle tea with a spot of honey served hot or cold over ice. It’s a taste that takes a while to get accustomed to but the benefits are huge!


So next time I am out there losing my temper with the weeds, I shall stop and think 'If you can’t Beat ’em…Eat ’em!',some of these are useful and more importantly they are completely free!

As A. A. Milne said in Winnie the Pooh -

‘Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them’!
...though not all as beautiful as the Roses and Jasmin this year......