Perseverance Finally Rewards

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One of the enjoyable parts of retirement is spending time in the garden, or perhaps to be more precise even weeding. Now I don't claim to have a garden that is completely free of intruders but I have to say it looks heaps better than three years ago. I mulched large areas in the spring which has helped to suppress the growth of unwanted interlopers and have also been fastidious in setting aside time each week for tending to the vegetable patch, hoeing  and pulling out weeds  by hand.


The weather has not been brilliant this summer by any means. Indeed and until two days ago it seemed that we were destined to suffer April temperatures and showers indefinitely. It has however had the advantage of forcing me to spend more time in the greenhouse, raising plants under glass to a greater level of maturity than I might normally have done before planting them out.


Inevitably there have been anxious moments not least as a result of the decision to try growing sweet corn. All the advice was that these days a crop can be successfully raised even in the Northern counties, if the weather is mild. I think I must have heard somewhere that we were destined to enjoy a warm summer this year and decided to give it a try in the sheltered walled area of the plot. Sadly last week a wander through the vegetable patch suggested that it may be stagnating as benign temperatures continued to prove themselves elusive.
 


Of course all that changed this week when the temperature rose gradually and to the extent that yesterday tarmac was softening on the road as the thermometer hit the dizzy height of 31 degrees celsius (88 degrees fahrenheit) in my garden, whereas seven days ago it could only muster 15 (59 fahrenheit).


I had completely forgotten what a hot, lazy day in the garden feels like; pottering with a watering can and trowel, before seeking respite in the shade listening to the birds and the hum of insects. Best of all there was finally an opportunity to enjoy and admire the result of all that hardwork and to breathe a sigh of relief when the sweet corn clearly appreciated the sunshine too.



Comments

John Brassey said…
Good to see the garden beginning to bloom. We've been flat out on ours this week too.
20 July 2016 at 22:27
Caree Risover said…
Now we understand better the expression "making hay while the sun shines"
20 July 2016 at 22:43
Debra Journet said…
Your garden is lovely--and so organized looking. Sorry about the sweet corn. Being from the south originally I definitely associate it with hot summers. My garden is a wreck. Still too hamstrung.
30 July 2016 at 16:50
Caree Risover said…
Thank you, although sadly the flower beds have not enjoyed the same attention as the vegetable patch and are the exact opposite of "organised"! Overgrown with some bedraggled specimens may be a better description for them now, although they did host a longlasting bulb display earlier in the year(again something to do with the weather).
31 July 2016 at 22:49
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