Well, here we are at the start of August in The Fortnight Garden, and the start of the eighth month of the year. I have been lazy – yes, I admit to sheer inactivity in the garden – and it shows! However, I am only going to share the nicer bits!
Acanthus
1.The acanthus mollis stand tall in a corner of the garden.
The light
2.It is always about the light, isn’t it? Evening light through the fern leaves is lovely, and the morning light also creates extraordinary effects. I have enjoyed the light over several years now while watching the garden change.
Pink flowers
3.Well, the Japanese anemones of course, but also the echinacea and a small potentilla which is much more modest, but still quite pretty.
Orangey yellow daisies in August in The Fortnight Garden
4.The Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ are starting to look very impressive and I am pleased. However, like their Japanese Anemone neighbours I notice they are also starting to spread themselves around the garden.
Wildlife
5.Bees and butterflies are still around, and we are doing our butterfly count every morning for fifteen minutes. We don’t have much variety here: large whites, small whites, peacocks, and gatekeepers. The white butterflies are particularly plentiful. The house martins are dealing with a second brood but so far I have not managed to photograph the young ones, and the parents dart in and out so are also proving elusive.
Bee in the lavender 
Large White 
Gatekeeper 
Gatekeeper 
Large White
Fruit watch
6.The fruit is coming along well at the start of August in The Fortnight Garden. Pears are swelling, the plums are fat and showing a touch of colour, the crab apples are on the ground, and only the quince is proving slow. It gets watered once a week and there are still two months to go, but the quinces look rather small.
Victoria plums 
Conference pear 
Quince ‘Meecher’s Prolific’ 
Crab apples
And that is the state of things at the start of August in The Fortnight Garden. It is different from 2016 and I can see that not all my ideas, nor even plants, have been carried forwards. On the other hand, I am still here, and gardening. Thank you to The Propagator for his very colourful display this week!
Looks like a good fruit crop!
I think some of the plums have been stung, but there will be enough; and there will be enough pears – very nice ones. I can freeze quinces, but there are a depressing number of crab apples and very few people seem to make jelly these days…
I would love to have a crab apple in my garden. What variety do you have? And I love crab apple jelly, even if it is a bit old fashioned. In any case I am sure the birds will be grateful for any you leave on the trees.
Oh my goodness, I don’t remember the variety but I can try to dig out the name. The tree is bowed down with fruit this year and I will be making jelly, perhaps with some added lemon juice and spice, otherwise it is a bit insipid. I also make quince jelly, which I like very much indeed. There won’t be a shortage for the birds!