I haven’t invited you in for a walk in my garden for a while. I thought you might like an update on what has been happening. The first thing to say is that the weather has been far from kind for most of August. We’ve had gales and lots of rain. The farmers hereabouts have had to take a break from the grain harvest – until today. On my bike ride this morning it was obvious that they are taking advantage of the sunshine to catch up and get the last acres combined. I’m guessing, though, that much of it is spoiled.

In the garden the white buddleia has finished flowering now. I took this picture on a rare sunny day a couple of weeks ago. You might feel like counting the butterflies – or not!

We harvested the James Grieve apples this week. Didn’t count them, but there are well over 100 – by far the biggest crop we have had to date. Gave some to the neighbours and have started eating some. They don’t keep well so we have also been slicing them and freezing them. It is a variety that cooks well, so Mrs P made some pies which are in the freezer. It will be another month before the Bramleys are ready but it looks as though there will be a good crop there too. The runner beans finally came good and we have started harvesting and eating them.

We are getting a steady supply of tomatoes, too, although they are rather small.

This week we visited my favourite garden centre. I purchased a few new plants and restocked with fertiliser. I also purchased this fine mesh to cover the raised bed. The carrots and beetroots are doing fine, but something has been destroying my cabbage plants. I sowed some more and want to ensure they are protected.

Finally, some good news. The rose I thought I had killed is alive and well. Originally I had left quite a long stem hoping that new shoots would appear from the side. A few weeks ago I decided to cut it back to within a few inches of the base. That seems to have worked. I discovered just the other day that there are four good strong shoots.