THE WEATHER -

A warm start to the month, becoming sunnier and unbearably hotter and more humid as the month progressed. Slightly cooler though by the 16th, with less humidity, and a much more pleasant feel. Cloudy weather with a few sunny periods followed until the 24th, when it rained for the entire day. Becoming very cold for July, with the 27th being the coldest July day for 25 years in London (pretty cold in Redditch too, I can tell you!). Warming up a bit by the 28th, but in the afternoon, the UK's worst ever tornado occurred only about 15 miles away in Birmingham. Fortunately, we just got high winds and torrential rain! Changeable weather for the rest of the month, but becoming warmer. Maximum temperature 30°C (86°F). Minimum temperature 8°C (46°F).

Whilst at the Hampton Court Flower Show at the beginning of the month, I saw this Lotus plant for sale. I've always wanted one, as they are such beautiful plants. This particular one is a double-flowered form called Nelumbo "Momo Botan". It is a shorter growing variety than the usual Nelumbo nucifera, but has the same leaves. It had a small flower bud when I bought it, which went on to develop into a beautiful large flower, with a prominent seed pod in the centre. Lotus are not hardy, so I have this in my conservatory, where it seems to be doing well. I hope it will continue to do well, as it cost an arm and a leg!!

I just had to picture this beautiful Clematis, called "Josephine". It is a heavenly pink colour and very double. I bought it about three years ago, and the first year it grew a bit and had one flower on, then died! Last year it grew again, didn't flower at all, then died, but this year it seems to have sorted itself out and whilst not exactly rampant, it has grown quite well and produced four beautiful large flowers, in spite of growing in deep shade. Hope I haven't spoken too soon..............

This is a very unusual shrub, which I only know as Lavatera variegata, although I'm not at all sure if that's its real name. It could well be a Malva rather than a Lavatera! Anyway, I love it for its beautiful cream variegated foliage, as well as its lovely purple flowers, and it grows to around 5 - 6 feet high. It's not a long-lived shrub, and tends to die after about 4 or 5 years, but in the meantime, it sets lots of seed, which come true, so it's easy to keep it going. I can't remember where I got this from originally, but I've never seen it for sale since. I'm glad I gave some seedlings to my father, as I did lose this a few years back, and although it seeded itself, the slugs had the seedlings before I had the chance to dig them up and pot them on. Fortunately, Dad's plants thrived and he was able to give me back a couple of small plants, this being one of them!

I planted some bulbs of Hymenocallis festalis (also known as Ismene festalis) a while back, and they have grown very strongly, with lovely green strap-shaped leaves. The flowers are borne in groups on the end of long stems, and are rather reminiscent of a white daffodil, except that the petals are elongated like a spider! The trumpet has a delicately frilled edge, whilst the centre of the trumpet is lime green - lovely!

Dahlias seem to be making a comeback! All the gardening TV programmes and the gardening press are hailing them as the "must-have" plants for colour in late summer and sutumn. Quite right too! I've always loved Dahlias as they make such a colourful show, and there is a size and colour to suit all tastes. My taste is for the reds and oranges, with the occasional deep purple because it's my favourite colour! I don't grow them for show as many people do, but I just enjoy having them in the garden. Pictured above are three which are in full bloom this month. On the left is the beautiful deep velvety red "Arabian Night"; in the centre is "Art Deco", which has unusual colouring of peachy-orange on the top of the petals, and red on the underside. The petals curl slightly on the edges, so the underside of the petals show as a red outline. On the right is a new one I bought this year, called "Duet", which is red with a white tip to the petals. I usually bring them in to the greenhouse over winter, but this year I decided to risk leaving one out, and this has come back again this year. The flowers aren't as advanced as those which were started off in pots in the greenhouse, but that will only help to extend the season, which is good!

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

Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Swallow, Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

RAINBOWS
Patience Strong

A shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds and lit the rain-washed world,
Each leaf and twig was hung with jewels and crystal drops impearled.
The Earth gave off a fragrant scent that hung upon the breeze,
And diamonds trembled on the dripping blossoms of the trees.......

And suddenly, above the roofs I saw a flaming bow -
That made an arch cross the world and set the sky aglow,
As if an artist with a brush moved with divine desire
Had stained the dome of heaven with a hoop of coloured fire.......

An then my heart remembered what this thing of beauty meant,
And why, when sun and showers blend, this lovely thing is sent
To tell His doubting children that the word of God is true,
And lest men should forget - He paints a rainbow in the blue.