by Derek Smith
We have had no rain since 27 June. That’s 35 dry days. We are in a drought, as evidenced by our flagging plants. Lack of rain has been made worse by the hot weather where much of our watering evaporates before plants can use it. There’s a hosepipe ban, but at least we have our tap, and how necessary it …
At the beginning of July, I harvested the flax, I had grown in the small raised bed, when all the flowers had gone and the stalks were turning yellow. This may have been too early as the seeds weren’t ripe. I left the flax in a stook to dry, in the hope there was sufficient moisture in the stalks for …
In the wildflower bed are lots of marigolds which need dead heading to keep flowering. There’s wild carrot too. I am fascinated how when the flower head goes to seed, it folds and becomes like a bird’s nest. There’s corn marigolds, California poppies, white campion and nipple wort. The latter is in the dandelion family which has so many similar …
So many people! 500 perhaps, so difficult to count. We had three sites: the garden, the street and Durning Hall, with events going on in all the places. We teamed up with Forest Gayte Pride, which might have bemused the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, very identifiable in their whites, but they seemed in party mood too. We had eight blue …
This is a busy month. Last weekend, we had the Garden Trail and the Green Fair. And at the end of the month, 28 June, we have our 10th anniversary celebration. At the Green Fair, I had a stall selling my local crime series, Jack of All Trades, and my children’s books. Next to me was Community Energy Newham. They …
Today the garden is part of the National Garden scheme. The proceeds we collect go to charity. When I arrive, I am surprised by the number of children with their parents. It is good to see us busy. The ukulele players are not here today. They felt they would take up too much room but I feel it is a …
A plumber has fixed the leak in the water pipes coming to our tap. So we have running water again, and don’t we need it. We have not had a decent downpour since early April when we had 3mm of rain. A dribble. It goes on and on, this dry spell. It was why we had running water put in, …
We have had 3 mm of rain in the last month. Last night, we had a teaser of rain. It looked like it was going to be a real storm. The BBC forecast suggested it would be. But just a few drops, dark skies, and that was that. It didn’t even register on the garden rain gauge. This is serious, …
We have had just 3 mm of rain this month. The average for April in London is around 40 mm with 10 to 16 rainy days. We have had just one this month. In a couple more weeks our barrels will be dry. At least, we have a tap. I think of farms and how they suffer at times like …
The garden is full of spring. At the front of the garden we have the pink cherry with its showy blossom, intermingling with the white blossom of the hawthorn, also known as the May Tree. Here ard there in the garden are three cornered leeks, like white bluebells, the latter around too. The old regulars: marigolds and kerria keep on …
