But of all lovely things, she loved
A cloudless moon, on summer night;
Full oft have I impatience proved
To see how long, her still delight
Would find a theme in reverie,
Out on the lawn, or where the trees
Let in the lustre fitfully,
As their boughs parted momently,
To the soft, languid, summer breeze.
(Charlotte, Mementos c.1837)
As I write approaching mid-July, the weather is decidedly mixed and inclined to be very showery following earlier thunder storms. The garden, however, seems to be thriving from these warm and wet conditions with not too much damage from the heavy rain storms of a week or so ago.
Our, or rather Jenny’s, time has largely been spent dead heading and propping up a few of the taller plants, drooping a little from the rain. So overall not too much heavy or hard work, more just tending and keeping things neat and tidy and letting nature do its own thing! Roses, Delphiniums, Bellflowers and Penstemons being particularly outstanding at present.
The lawn has now fully recovered from its, literally, patchy start to the growing season and hopefully is now complementing the whole appearance of the garden. It is soon time for a mid-season raking. Probably something it does not like at the time but is better for in the long run – the sort of thing I may have said to my children at times gone by!
The garden at the rear of the Parsonage is worth a walk round as it is now very full and laden with many colours and varieties. Jenny as added some vivid red Geraniums to really set the scene ablaze.
Thank you to everyone who visited us on our Open Garden ‘Bring and Swap’ plant day. We hoped you enjoyed browsing the plant stall. Some plants that others brought along are new to us and we shall enjoy planting them and watching their development. We have left any remaining plants on the path in the Parsonage garden with a donation box. So if you are passing please help yourself. We shall keep you posted on how we use the donations.
Geoff Taylor
Volunteer Gardener