June was a month that seems to have passed very quickly this year. Maybe that is because we have been busy preparing for our open garden day on July 15th. There is still quite a lot to do in the garden, and we are baking every day and kind friends are letting us use their freezers for all the muffins, Swedish cinnamon buns and scones. We have had masses of ripe raspberries over the last couple of weeks and most of them have been used for vanilla and raspberry muffins for our guests on the open day.
In December last year we planted four different bare root roses. We wrote about them here. We were pleasantly surprised when they started growing early in the spring and by June they were all in full flower. It is difficult to pick a favourite, there is Rosa Mundi that looks like raspberry ripple ice cream, two different moss roses and the old Apothecary rose. They have one thing in common though, the lovely fragrance of old fashioned roses.
Down by the stream New Dawn is arching its branches over the water, smothered in pale pink roses. Next year we think it will reach all the way across.
This spring and early summer have been perfect for vegetables and we enjoy many different kinds in salads, smooties and stir-fries on a daily basis.
Our circle was looking quite colourful already in June, but we think it will be even more so this month when many of the perennials will start to flower.
We post photos here on a regular basis and we thought it might be fun to see how the garden has developed over the last two years. So here are some pictures from June 2015 and June 2017. Two years has made quite a big difference we think.
East 2015
East 2017
South 2015
South 2017
West 2015
West 2017
North 2015
North 2017
The trees and shrubs have put on so much growth, mostly down to constant mulching with cardboard and wool, grass-clippings, wood chips and home-made compost.
We have noticed that many perennials and vegetables have a lot less slug damage compared to other years, and we think it is down to the numbers of frogs and newts that have increased every year since we created the ponds. It really is quite easy and enjoyable to work with nature and not use any chemical fertilizers or weed killers. It might take a little longer to get the balance right, but it is so rewarding to see the land brimming with wildlife of all sorts, and all the plants growing well.
thegreenerdream 