The Garden in August

It's hard to believe we're into August already. The days are getting noticeably shorter and the weather is cooling. We've had a lot of rain. Why is it that, just because July was so hot and dry, we have to get all the stored up rain dumped on us over the space of a few days? I've got totally soaked several times even though I had a coat and umbrella.

Anyway, this is a great time of year in the garden so this is just a bit of a tour round ours so you can see what's happening.

On the vegetable front we are still eating the Rooster potatoes. This is them scrubbed up ready to cook.

These blue potatoes are now ready for eating too. Their skins are a deep purplish blue and, surprise, surprise, so is the flesh.

The courgettes are almost ready; I don't like them to get too big.

There are Brussels sprouts coming along and some cauliflower just about big enough to use.

We've been eating the butter beans and frozen some (after blanching). They are almost finished now.

I love the inside of the bean pod. It's so silky soft.

We've also been eating these turnips. they're delicious when they're still small. I just boil them for about five minutes and then fry them in a small amount of butter and demerara sugar.

There are tomatoes a-plenty. We're eating them as they ripen but also freezing a considerable amount to be used later for making pasta sauce.

One picking of tomatoes

 

And they just keep coming

The onions are ready for eating now though they haven't been lifted and dried yet for storing over the winter. The garlic is drying and I've started using it.

This tray of sliced onions had my eyes watering until I couldn't see a thing and had to stop slicing every so often until they were all done. I cooked them in the Aga and served them with sirloin steak, potatoes, garlic and beans.

Let's see what fruit there is. There's a great crop of blackberries to come. They are still nowhere near ripe - these are our cultivated ones - though the wild ones in the hedge are further on.

There are apples growing espalier-fashion on the pergola.

We have only one pear tree, a Conference variety, and it's doing very well this year. Last year was a disaster; not a single pear was harvested. A few started to grow but didn't mature.

There is also only one plum tree in the garden; this is a Victoria plum. As with the pears, there were no plums last year. There are so many plums this year that the fruit laden branches are bent to the ground.

We always get a good harvest of apples as we have about half a dozen trees of different varieties.

Hope you like pictures of apples! I have to admit that, although I'm delighted we're going to have so much fruit to pick, there's also a slight feeling of panic that comes over me at this time of year; the nagging question - 'what am I going to do with all this fruit that's all going to be ready to use at, more or less, the same time?' I'm just a panicker; it all works out in the end! By the way, there's also a mountain of grapes in the greenhouse that's ready for picking. Usually I make grape jelly or cordial; using the grapes on their own or mixed with other fruit. Grapes freeze very well so I will probably freeze quite a lot and use it later over the autumn and winter.

So now the flowers. The roses, sweet pea, geraniums and annuals are all continuing to flower.

Gladioli are now strutting their stuff. They are so big and bold. There's plenty more of them to come.

There is a solitary sunflower among the vegetables.

I'm still loving this sea holly (Eryngium). The colour is more vivid in real life.

Now, what do you think of this gorgeous wee robin who came for a bath? He seemed to really enjoy splashing about in this puddle, left in our drive after a very heavy shower.

Then he retreated to a flower bed to dry off.

It won't be long now until we extract the honey. I'm looking forward to telling you all about it.

Enjoy what remains of summer (or look forward to the coming of summer if you're in the southern hemisphere).

All the best for now.