What a month August has been: it has been hot hot hot. Thankfully it ended with some much needed downpours but overwhelmingly in August the garden baked.
The hanging baskets have been swapped around. They suffered badly when I went away in July for a few days. This one had been by the back door and was least dead.
This is the one from the front door. I cut back all the dead foliage and kept watering it, and it is perking up. I doubt it will do much before the frosts kill it, but I could not just dump it.
After a day or two of rain the front lawn is starting to glimmer with green again. I made a decision in the heatwaves not generally not water the garden. Lawns always have to fend for themselves and they soon bounce back. I have watered things in pots because I had already committed to do that. I also watered the tree ferns as similarly I always do. Most other things though have had to cope, or not.
The Salvia uliginosa has not been watered and is just a delight. It is covered with bees and butterflies most of the time and I can see it through the front window when sitting on the sofa. I love this. It is a serious candidate for the Blackberry Garden Plant of the Year Award 2026. It is unheard of that I am thinking who has won this early in the year, but this plant has been spectacular. I need more of this plant.
The side garden, which was totally self-seeded, has been mainly cleared of verbascums. I have left a patch at the back though to provide shelter for wildlife over the winter.
The brugmansia has finally started to flower, much later than usual. Some idiot put it outside too early and it got cold when the temperatures suddenly dipped earlier in the year. It set it back badly and I worried I would lose it. I have promised it I will do better next year.
The succulent table and surrounding pots are doing well. The succulents have loved the heat and have the occasional water. The other pots I seem to have kept alive ok.
The yellow courgettes are still producing. This plant nearly died when I was away, but a cut back and drench with water has pulled it through.
The chillies have done well too. I will move them soon into the greenhouse as the evenings are getting cooler now.
The Smell me and Dye Garden is a bit of a disaster area, though I did weed this the other day - can you tell? It is mainly a tangle of woad and madder. The roses are all doing well and I keep clearing some space around them to give them room to breathe. I have decided that dye gardens are messy. Well that is what I am telling myself anyway.
The formal lawn is still quite brown.
The perennial sunflowers, who are thuggy mcthugface, are starting to flower. Drought does not halt them that is for sure! But they are fabulous for late pollinators and give height and colour. I just need to edit them back a bit better next year.
Not all is doing well in this part of the garden. The Rheum is thirsty and stunted.
Nothing stunts the Euphorbia mellifera, not until I prune it - soon - soon
The Courtyard garden is dominated by bananas, they are having a fabulous year. They are in pots so are watered and they love the heat.
The Christmas Cactus is enjoying its summer holiday outdoors. The aspidistras behind it are also happy.
The Justicia carnea has been slow to get going this year, but is now flowering and I am very pleased it is still ok.
The Aldi Acer is not calling Autumn, it has suffered very much from the heat and drought. I think it was mainly the heat as it is has never done this in previous droughts. I love this tree and can see it is trying to stay alive. I live in hope.
This sorbus is similarly struggling. It is not quite dead....
The rhododendron bought from Exbury Gardens a couple of years ago is crispy.
as is the Cornus, which is not quite as dead as it looks. I have thrown a bucket or three of water over this during the summer, but to little impact.
I am not holding out hope for this camellia.
But the tips of this magnolia give me some hope that it will pull through.
The Magnolia Leonard Messel, one of my very favourites in the garden, is not happy at all. There are some green leaves still and some flower buds forming but I have hated seeing it struggle so much. This has never happened in previous droughts so it must be the combination of drought and extreme heat. Poor Leonard.
On a brighter note, the mulberry tree is growing well.
and the medlar tree is happily producing medlars.
The tree ferns in the Exotic Border are ok, the large dead bamboo was already dead as it flowered this year. On saying that I can see glimpses of green in i so I am not removing it just yet.
The Wild Edric rose has coped well, as have all the roses. It is bedevilled with blackberries, they have loved the drought!
The Illicium simonsii looks poorly.
and the edgeworthia is breaking my heart,
but I am living in hope as it is trying to live. I did water this shrub, my adoration for it could not leave it totally in the hands of fate.
and the pond? Yes this is the pond. I can see glimmers of water in it which makes me very happy. It does need weeding, when does it not?
So, as you can see, the garden has suffered great this year. As said above I made a conscious decision not to water almost all of it. The amount of water this would take would be reckless to devote to a garden. If this is our future then it is also pointless to fight every year to keep plants alive. I am going to see what pulls through and grow more of that. Time will tell.....
Take care and be kind.
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