A Rubbish Summer in the Garden

 Well I suppose it doesn't look too bad now but all in all, it was a rubbish season in the garden. It started out quite promising as it usually does in spring. I planted things early hoping for no late frosts and I was rewarded this time. No late frosts. The early tomatoes and zucchini and such were the best we had for the summer. As the heat and dry dragged on and on, things just shrivelled whether they were well watered or not. I actually got to the point where I was just not bothering with plants that were struggling too much. They were a waste of water this summer when we didn't have it to waste.
And it is quite disheartening to invest so much of your time and yourself to no avail. I've had 17 summer gardens here and this was the worst one yet. But I am like most other gardeners and full of hope for next season.

 The roses gave me some flowers but really none were spectacular and two have perished completely. They were young plants that I planted as bare rooted specimens last winter and they sprouted new growth in spring but decided it was too tough here.

Dahlias were disappointing too. Some have grown and not flowered at all. Some flowered well for a while but faded fast. I hope the stress of the drought this summer has toughened them up for the future. I miss their sunny faces.

Of course not everything is a complete failure. The chillies. They have loved it. The heat, the dry. They just keep on going and get hotter I think. I'm glad something thrived in the garden this summer and are continuing to actually. But we can't live off chillies alone.

The weather has taken a toll on the soil health too wit h some beds seeming a bit hydrophobic. It looks a little lacklustre and I'm going to be adding compost and giving it a generous soaking. Green manure crops too. And just keep on loving my garden.

Tracy