Charingworth Court Cotswolds Garden

This morning the weather forecaster talked about high pressure. I’m sure he did and it definitely wasn’t a dream! And today the sun is shining and there is real warmth in the air and the garden has a feeling of summer. There are roses in full bloom, lavender now beyond a blue haze, kolkwitzia and buddleia alternifolia, iris and geraniums, peonies and astrantia. Sprinkled everywhere are nigella from white through pale blue to navy making a carpet of colour in the beds. And best of all I have dug the first potatoes, there are broad beans ready and the first mange tout have set. Hurrah for summer!

Today the pond was covered in mayflies (red, blue and green) and literally writhing with tadpoles. The blackbirds are in a frenzy of tadpole eating as there are so many of them and soon we will be knee deep in mini frogs. Looking at all the bright pink flowers around, you can see what I love. The Bellini dahlias are amazing and the dancing butterfly peony won’t be in flower for long but it’s worth it!

The montana and wisteria are almost over but the philadelphus, viburnum mariesii, deutzia and roses are in full flower and scent! The geraniums and erodiums are flowering in every part of the garden – dozens of varieties and colours. This is Kashmir white though it is really pale pink.

The sun shone occasionally and the rain held off apart from a couple of showers so we were relatively lucky. The umbrella really wasn’t needed at this point! The lavender has a purple haze and the roses are just coming out but everything in the garden (including the gardeners!) desperately needs some sun.

The iris are late but tall and stately this year. With the sun shining through them they looked beautiful this evening. The waterlilies are out at last and the tadpoles are growing. There are at least 6 blackbirds chasing each other round the pond with the odd skirmish as they head for a tadpole snack!

We’ve been bust buying and planting up pots today. Some of our pots had cracked or lost their tops and were sharp and so dangerous. Toddington garden centre has some nice clay ones that are pale rather than orange so we bought a mixture of sizes. Of course then we needed more plants to fill them! Mrs Morris served and us and wondered if the garden centre will survive once our garden opening and wedding are over!
The dahlia is called Bellini and the Osteospernum are Summertime Cardinal. The geranium is Designer Pink Splash and then there is white lobelia and various verbena dotted around. And Richard has been busy making wooden supports for the fruit. He is looking very brown after several days in the garden.

Today we have been working on the walled garden where the weather has meant that the vegetables are well behind schedule. We have weeded beds and planted courgettes and beans. The sweetcorn and tomatoes have struggled with the weather but it seems to have suited the clematis montanas. The top one is Marjorie, detail in the second picture, and the next is Broughton Star. The bottom one is Odorata. If only you could smell it – it is exquisite!