I love summer, but I have to confess
that this summer has been rather disappointing :(
I hate to complain,
but there are good summers, poor summers and then there was this summer!
I haven't seen the statistics, but surely they must confirm that the
number of sunshine hours for the past three months has been low, whilst
the volume of rainfall must surely have been high.
It's not that I wish to sit on the beach for hours, or on a
lounger in the garden, though that does sound appealing right now, as I listen to yet more of the wet stuff landing on the roof window. I
love to spend hours in the garden, digging, weeding, planting and
pruning, cutting back, rearranging and harvesting summer fruit and
vegetables. Treating myself occasionally, to a five minute sit - down to
enjoy an ice cold lemonade. I love it when the children loose me behind
the runner beans and resort to phoning my mobile to relocate me in my
jungle! Not this year though!
This year, despite no shortage of water, the runner beans and the French climbing beans have not long managed to reached their lofty destination. They
almost lost in their battle to ascend the six foot canes.
Almost...nearly...but, finally, somehow they managed it, but I'm yet to
be delighted by a summer feed of wonderful beans, drenched in butter and plenty of black pepper with crusty white bread!
As always, I love to meet other gardeners, to chat and compare progress.. or lack of! For a short while in June, I started to doubt my veg growing skills, maybe I'd just been lucky for the past twenty years! A touch of beginners luck maybe? Until I met up with some other keen vegetable growers, and all had the same sorry tale to tell. Vegetables rotting in the ground, failed crops, slugs galore, rain and cool temperatures, a desperate combination :(
I'm now dreaming of a warm and pleasant Autumn. I may have to buy pumpkins this year, but I can still enjoy making comforting winter soups, chutney and jams. Maybe I can even sit, wrapped up in a comfy blanket, and enjoy a very late feed of runner beans under a cool autumn sun! Better late than never! :)
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