Have just been away for two weeks following Hoby Open Gardens and it has been hot; very hot for England at 32 centigrade! And we continue to have had no rain of any consequence since the middle of May. 
We left a garden looking quite good but now it is crisp and dry. Our soil is a sandy loam and tends to dry out quickly but in an English climate this is usually not an issue..
The main lawn was the walled kitchen garden for a large house next door and the interesting thing now is that wherever there were paths in the original kitchen garden the lawn drys out fastest as you can see in the above.
The lawn on June 16th before the sun!
So rather than show pictures of dried up plants I thought I would go back to the open garden event.
After a hectic week getting everything ready the weekend arrived and was a great success. Eleven gardens opened, included Glebe House, and in addition we provided lunches, tombolas, an art exhibition, plant stalls,a white elephant stall (ie a junk stall), a Pimms bar and lets not forget the cream teas. Our garden was one of the venues for cream teas and after Diane had made 250 scones we made almost £900 on the teas alone. Overall the money is still being counted but it looks like we have made almost £7500 which, for a village of just 100 houses, is excellent. The money is going to do some improvements in our 13th century village church.
The roses were stunning with Rosa Rambling Rector covering the old apple tree and Rosa Bobby James on the right just coming into flower. Probably one of the best comments was when one of the visitors said she always came into our garden to see the rose ‘Rampant Rector’!
Here are some of the roses in the garden:
The main pond had recovered from when it emptied itself and the water stayed crystal clear.
and there were no snakes to be seen here either.
We only have one hanging basket and luckily it is on automatic watering so it just as good now.
The dahlias were a bit disappointing as the slow spring had held back the flowers. The only flowering dahlias were Dahlia Arabian Night and Dahlia David Howard. Now they are all struggling due to lack of rain.
The Delphinium Black Knight and Rosa ‘Iceberg’ made a great show.
This shrub always provides interest. It is Carpenteria californica with Rosa ‘Irene Watts’ in the foreground. Carpenteria californica is quite a rare plant in English gardens and it needs a sheltered position as it is rather tender.
June is peak season for poppies which self seed throughout the garden.
We do not have a huge vegetable plot. However, for open gardens even the vegetable plot needs to be weed free.
Elsewhere there were plenty of flowers to see.
As you can see the hedges had not been cut. Actually we ran out of time, however, the current thinking is that it is better to cut box hedging a little later to help prevent blight.
| 2018 Gardening Hours | ||
| Week beginning June 30th | Total 2018 to-date | Average per week |
| 0 | 462 | 18 |
Holiday week so no gardening.
What ever the weather Autumn is certainly setting in now. Looking down the garden the day after the grass was cut there is already a carpet of leaves forming.
Else where the Euonymus alatus ‘Burning Bush’ is looking fantastic with its Autumn foliage.
The usual EoMV across the garden has not changed that much from last month. It does look a bit duller but I think this is mainly the lack of sun for the photograph!
In more detail the corner bed on the left has been really successful with the Ricinus communis ‘Impala’ continuing to put on an excellent display. The dark leaves and white flowers of Dahlia ‘Twyning’s After Eight’ off setting the yellow flowers of Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’. 
Last month I said I had been disappointed with Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ and several people said how much they valued this plant. 
Now I take back my words as you can see what a great plant to have in the Autumn border. However, due to its size good staking is definitely required.
Almost lost in this corner is Achillea millefolium ‘Terracotta’ together with the magenta of Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ . A great demonstration of the value of complementary colours. With so much large herbaceous planting it is easy for smaller plants to get lost. We will be giving some thought to how to make more of the front of the border.
The main rose bed is to the left of the wall. The roses are coming to the end of their blooming period. 
However there are still some beauties to see. This is Rosa ‘Anne Boleyn’ a very reliable rose around two to three feet high, a great perfume and repeat flowing. What more could you want?
The view across the lawn to the right hand part of the wall. From this distance it looks very green but there are some points of interest to explore.
Another good repeater is Rosa ‘Mutabilis’. When it is windy this rose always gets hit. It has been stripped twice of its flowers this year but it keeps coming back. It is planted as a climber on the wall and as it is a bit tender seems to respond well to this..
Another Autumn favourite, both for insects and flowers, is the Sedum although in this case I have no idea about the variety. Sedums must be one of the easiest plants to grow and propagate and as such end up being slotted into gaps without recording what they are! We always do a ‘Chelsea chop’ on these which seems to give strong stems and less flopping. 
At the end of the bed on the right is Cotinus ‘Nottcutts Variety’. Normally a very dark variety.
Looking down the garden Rosa Rambling Rector has taken over the apple tree which was damaged earlier this year in a 
Towards the garden wall Rosa Blush Noisette on the pergola in the corner.
Across the large pond a multitude of blooms of delphiniums, geraniums etc.
And looking back towards the pleached lime hedge the underplanting of Rosa Alfred de Dalmas and Lavandula augustifolia ‘Hidcote’ is all coming together.
Rosa Joseph’s Coat produces these interesting multi coloured blooms.
Clematis Rhapsody always puts on a good display.
Recently I talked about the 
Potentilla atrosanguinea var. argyrophylla Scarlet Starlit providing bright red stars in the border.
Near the Delphinium Black Knight a Rosa Iceberg in flower.
Knautia macedonica probably a self set but the colour combination works well.
Hosta Sun & Substance together with Clematis Boulevard Angelique in a lead planter. This planter is on automatic watering. Last year the drain holes blocked and the planter was flooded for some time. Everything was removed and new drain holes made. The original clematis died but the hosta has come back and shows great promise with the new clematis.
Rosa Bonica as a standard rose, newly planted last year.
Clematis Madame Julia Correvon another reliable clematis.
The large pink flowered plant is Geranium palmatum which has a habit of self seeding everywhere but how can you fault it when it looks like this.
The first dahlia in flower this year, Dahlia David Howard.
Salvia nemorosa Ostfriesland (East Friesland)
Rosa Felicite Perpetue along the bottom of the garden.
Sambucus nigra Lace Lady
Lysimachia atropurpurea Beaujolais. The problem with plant nurseries is that you always see something that you have not got but feel you have a place for it. This was one such purchase last week!
The largest Crambe Cordifolia we have ever grown.
The magic of some clematis does not die when the flowers are over. Gold seed heads remain.
More Allium Christophii
Tradescantia Innocence, what more is there to like!
Glebe House Garden 