I spend as much time as possible in the fresh air at this time of year and have little opportunity to watch television. If I did, there seems to be an enormous number of gardening programmes around at the moment. however, I much prefer to look at real gardens. There are grand stately homes as well as many private gardens open to the public but it is also very enjoyable just wandering around the village and looking over peoples hedges. Our Society trip to Wisley was enjoyed by all those who came but the low numbers involved means that we will have to reconsider seriously these sort of outings in the future.
A free packet of seeds from a gardening magazine gave me the opportunity to try growing some giant sunflowers for a change this year. I though that one either side of the vegetable plot might be fun. The plant on the right hand side of the path seems to be flourishing but the one on the left and its subsequent replacements soon succumbed to the chewing of some unidentified pest.
Unidentified pests were also responsible for breaking in to the Societys shop recently and while nothing was taken it is worth reminding all gardeners to check the security of your valuable tools. I was speaking recently to a couple of members who had a number of items taken from their garden shed, so it pays to take precautions.
The weather lately has been warm and sunny with lots of showers, some quite heavy, and most of the garden is doing well. The dahlias have got off to a good start and most of the vegetable are looking healthy. I dont seen to be having much luck with my salad crops at the moment though and the slugs seem even more numerous than previous years, so that although the resident frog is fatter than ever, even he cant keep up with
the supply! John Hopkins