Fingers Crossed, the Mitcheldean Garden 2021
Heat Wave Part 1

This page is part of a series of garden blogs from 2021. Click here for the index.

I described some of June's weather as being 'sub-tropical' and then the first 3 weeks of July were totally 'tropical' with temperatures of at least 30 degrees. This part covers the lower garden and patio

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Looking from the road, the garden probably looks like a controlled jungle to passers by. Look closely and the surfinias are there as usual as are some tubs on the steps There are a couple of geranium pots on the second wall and a mass of fuchsias and purple and white dahlias behind which will flower very soon. On the right at the bottom is what I call the 'yellow weed', you can pay good money for it at a garden centre but in our case it just walked in and took over, it's about the only plant that will grow there.

At the top, the David Austin roses have again demonstrated their inherent quality, responding well to Yuehong's feeding and regular watering.

The first flush will have lasted at least a month and depending on the weather there may be another one later.

The patio has been a blaze of colour, there are multiple geraniums of various kinds and all sorts of other thirsty plants. Just how many was brought home when it was time to trim the Albertine rose and all the pots and tubs below had to be moved temporarily.

We always buy a basic stock of fresh plants from the internet, local garden centres and even our local Lidl supermarket, then we sit back and wait for the clearance bargains. This year our chain garden centre on the other side of Newent has done us proud. We have taken to visiting once a week, it's a very pleasant drive through the lanes and on this occasion, the resultant additions were particularly photogenic. You'd never guess that Yuehong's favourite colour is red.

Off the top of my head we have the following on the patio - begonia, busy lizzie, dwarf dahlia, fuchsia, geranium, lobelia, (African) marigold, million bells, nemesia, osteospermum, petunia, thunbergia, verbena. That's a left over pansy on the left and the red climbing rose has had an excellent year especially as it has to share with the precocious white clematis.

The Albertine rose has more or less exhausted itself, its soil is limited and it has to share with two clematis. Of course, the pond has its water lily which would occupy every available inch if we let it. As it is we strike a compromise so the fish get some shade but enough light gets through for the weed they feed off to thrive too.