The summer of 2025 has been both lovely and a tad frustrating for the gardener in me. Lovely because we enjoyed a lot of sunny, hot days, great for the soul. Frustrating because the rainy days we've had since February (!) can be counted on less than ten fingers. And it shows!
The trees are dropping their leaves already, and at an alarming rate. When Puck and I do our daily rounds, they crackle beneath our feet. The bushes are drying out, so blackberries shrivel up before they can be eaten. So I worry. I worry about our lovely summer Oaks which line our streets. I worry about the hedgehogs. And I get frustrated with the desert that my garden has become by now.
This was my Yellow Raspberry on Sept.1st 2024. This year I picked the last fruit (which was scant but lovely) on August 2nd. And its leaves are yellow by now, eventhough I have watered it. The Redcurrant next to it has shrivelled up and died. Oh my giddy aunt! Where will this end?
This was at our 06.00 morning walkies, and you can see the leaf litter under the trees. Still. Puck enjoyed her sniff very much, thank you, and afterwards I hurried to Hunky Dory to water the pots.
Where I was welcomed by this sight. There are worse ways to die than on a flower in the night, I suppose. Its mates were busily zooming around visiting the other Scabious, no one paid it the slightest bit of notice. Poor thing. But it lives on in this blogpost.
Well. Will you look at that?! Sowing the seed in the greenhouse (2 packets!) watering it, singing to it, mollycoddling it, then rescuing the survivors from scorching by putting them in a pot, where they could at least try to survive outside. Because I watered it daily. Sigh. And what do you get? One flower. More to come, at least three more...out of 2 packets. Sometimes this gardening lark is an exercise in humility.
But at least my Hydrangeas were grateful for the water. They are going over now, but have been valiantly looking good.
The Malus and Sedum are turning as well. I think this is Sedum 'Herbstfreude', but I am not quite sure as I got it from a gardener who wanted to get rid of it and the others that live in my garden now.
Naturalistic planting
This photo is a good example of how my naturalistic planting in the 'hot bed' is evolving. The hottest plants (blood red Crocosmia) have now turned to seed, the Yellow Achillea, which scorched, is not giving up, but the Carex grass is definitely trying to take over the entire bed. Let me tell you, it looks easy, and when you get it just right it looks bloody amazing, but it is not easy at all! That Carex was a mistake for starters.
Despite the terrible drought this has been a good summer. I will pickle the last courgette today, eat the last of my Yellow zebra tomatoes and have a few purple Plums. I hope you'll have a good weekend!
Do follow this blog if you like what I write, and there is a new blogpost on my website about a couple of meet-and-greets for when you happen to be in the area: Renée Grashoff Schrijft
Renée Grashoff
