The gardens gone whoosh

  Partly my fault, as I should have staked them better if at all but the rain has made everything go whoosh.

  My lavender is absolutely magnificent. OK maybe it is in the way of where I want to walk but to fight my way past it and come out smelling all gorgeous and calm cannot be a bad thing.

  My Crocosmia Lucifer has burst into flower and as always looks dramatic. I thought it usually comes out later than this. I know earlier on in the year we were a couple of weeks ahead of the norm but I thought the garden had caught up with itself. I guess we are heading for mid July next week, so maybe it's me who's behind.

  In the vegetable patch my plan to dig up my garlic and replace with the sweet potatoes has misfired as I don't think my garlic is quite ready yet, so I have had to plant it with the climbing beans. It really is a hot spot in the garden, so I am hoping they will be happy there. It's a new vegetable for me to grow, so we'll see. It's a relative of Convolulous, which grows anywhere, so I am hoping it shares the same traits as its cousin.

  The tomatoes in the greenhouse, which are a bush variety and not strictly suitable for a greenhouse due to its size, have put on so much growth. I know cordon tomatoes are much better suited to a small space but this variety Legend are just amazing. The fruits are enormous, with very little seeds and so juicy and sweet, ooh it's making my mouth water just thinking of them.

  They have put on these great lolling great side shoots, which look like limbs and are getting outrageously out of control. My dilemma is, do I cut some of them off and sacrifice their bounty?

I can't bear the thought, so for now I am trying to train them to go up and then secure them to the frame of canes.

  My sweetcorn is enjoying this rain and I have some tassels appearing on the stems. I think the feed I gave them of Epsom Salts when they went in, has really helped. They look incredibly green and with my sandy soil, that's quite a feat.

  My blueberries are ripening nicely and I have started to pick the raspberries. They will go lovely with some homemade pistachio ice cream which is on the menu for this weekend.

  Then you grow vegetables and fruit on a small scale you sometimes wonder, is it worth all the effort?

  Once you have bought the seeds and compost, I am not sure how much money you save. If you grow salads  and more exotic vegetables rather than the ubiquitous carrot, then I am sure you do but one things for sure, even if you only get one, maybe two meals out of your pickings, knowing that no chemicals have touched your food and the feeling that you have nurtured the seed to produce a plant and then harvested the crop, is such a wonderful feeling, I would say it's well worth it.

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