A Difficult Summer

My health issues seem to have taken most of the summer from me.  After the emergency hernia operation, then the bout of pneumonia, I am now recovering from a second hernia op which became necessary after the first one was repaired!  As a result, I've not done much since the middle of July and all Sue seems to have done is water in an attempt to keep the garden going.  However the drought continues.  We have had about 2 showers and 1 day of light rain in this period.  The forecast for tomorrow is stormy showers but we don't hold our breath; we might get it or we might not, or it might be in the next valley but not ours!  Then it is set to continue sunny and temperatures in the 20's till at least the middle of October.  As a result Sue is selectively watering and we will have to wait to see what plants have been lost.  Lots of gardeners we talk to are considering changes to their planting in view of the apparent hotter, drier summers we are now experiencing.

We always struggle as we have very little soil before we hit rock, and the soil has no body to it and so doesn't retain any moisture.  Sue has been building compost heaps for the past 2 years and now has started to use the results.

Not withstanding these difficulties, Sue continues to work in the garden for next year.  She has been lifting old Irises and replanting them with the addition of the compost.

The irises are interspersed with purple tulips so, provided they aren't eaten, or washed out by storms, we hope to have a good splash of colour in the Spring.