THE WEATHER -

No shortage of rain this month! I remember August as being a hot, dry month, when the lawn was brown and the borders looked tired. Not any more. For the last few years, August has been warm and wet, and now the lawn is lush and the borders look positively tropical! The first week of the month was a mixture of sunshine and showers, but by the 8th, the rain had set in with a vengeance, and didn't know when to stop. Parts of the country have been flooded, although, being on high ground, we haven't suffered that fate. Thunderstorms on the 8th and 9th. Things settled down by the 13th, and warm summer weather followed until the 19th, when it became dull again, with light showers, but brightened up again by the 21st. Showers on the 23rd, and torrential showers on the 24th. Fine weather again on the 25th, which lasted until the end of the month. Maximum temperature this month, 26°C (82°F), and minimum temperature 9°C (48°F).

OK, in some countries, this plant is a positive weed! In the UK, however, it certainly isn't, and this twining tender perennial climber, Ipomea indica, is growing beautifully in the conservatory, and has flowered for the first time this year. It is currently busy twining itself around my Peacock chair! I bought it two years ago as a rooted cutting, and it was only about 6cms high! Its beautiful blue trumpets open in the morning, and only last for one day, but each bud carries a number of flowers, which open in succession. Stunning!

I was quite surprised to see a flower on my Sansevieria trifaciata (Mother in Law's Tongue) in the conservatory, as the plant is very small, and was a cutting which I took only two years ago. Normally, plants have to be quite big before they flower, but this one has decided it likes its conditions, and has produced this flower spike, which smells lovely in the evening. Cuttings of this plant are easy to take. Just cut off a leaf, let it dry out for a couple of days, then insert it into a pot of well-drained compost. There's no need to put it into a plastic bag or propagator, it will root in about three to four weeks, all by itself!! This method only works with the plain green variety, however. If you want to take cuttings of the variegated types, they do not come true from leaf cuttings, and will only ever produce a plain green plant. You will need to split the plant up and cut off a section of the rhizome which contains some roots and a growing point, then you will be sure to have the same plant as the parent.

Having a stroll around one of the garden centres recently (my favourite pastime), I came across this lovely plant, called Plectranthus 'Sasha'. It's a new introduction this year, and when I saw a picture of it in one of the gardening magazines earlier in the year, I knew I had to have it! It's not hardy in the UK, so I've got it in the conservatory at the moment, although I expect it would do well in the garden during the summer months.

In the greenhouse, I have several varieties of Zantedeschia, the Calla Lily. They come in lots of colours, and grow from a tender tuber. One of the most beautiful and unusual ones is Zantedeschia 'Black Diamond', which I bought as a dry tuber in spring. The strange thing about this is that some of the leaves can't decide whether to be leaves or flowers, so they are leaf-shaped, but coloured like the flowers! In the picture, you can see a flower on the right, and one of these strange leaves on the left.

Out in the garden, this little beauty is Angelica gigas. It has the same green leaves as the common Angelica archangelica, but the flowers are this gorgeous wine colour. I shall definitely save the seeds, as the plant is biennial, and will now die, but I need MORE of these!!

As usual, here's a view of the garden for you. This picture shows the gazebo and part of the south-facing border, on level two. This border is in full flight at the moment, with lots of colour still in evidence. The view looks down the steps (on the extreme left of the picture) to level three, and all the plants in view on the left of the picture are actually on level three. I've just cut back some tall shrubs on the left of the gazebo, so a bit more of it can be seen. Looking at the height of the gazebo, you can see just how tall the purple Eupatorium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed) is, on the right of the gazebo.

That's all for this month...... Happy Gardening!!

Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Fritillary, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Holly Blue, Large White, Green-veined White.

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Jay, Long-Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Swallow, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren, Yellow Wagtail.