OMG how can this happen 2 summers in a row?? Rain, rain and more rain. The garden definitely thinks it’s Spring again, I’ll be very surprised if a heap of the once flowerers don’t flower again like several did last season. I’ve already seen Albertine down on the front fence budding up for her next go.
The humidity is hard for many plants to cope with. Sadly my magnificent Chatham Island Forget me nots melted in the heat and damp, several other large heat loving perennials have also succumbed. But not the roses of course. Some have rampant disease again, not as bad as spring, but in general they’re taking it all in their large strides and starting to produce some nice autumn flowers. You gotta at least appreciate them, even if you don’t love them!
On the question of seedlings, which camp are you in? Do you welcome self seeded flowers and veges in your garden? They always seem gifts from God to me, but then sometimes one doesn’t really want a gift…
The cleomes in the picture above are in this category… a lovely show put on for free, but surrounded by yellow roses? I’m afraid they’ve had to go, but they’ve been immortalised here!
I often transplant or pot up unwanted strays, other people may want them, or I can poke them in somewhere else more suitable. Of course we get a lot of self seeded roses too, which are all treated as future champions until they prove otherwise!
The rose world never stops surprising…here is Potter and Moore , usually really good in the autumn when its not so wet. Spring flowers are usually mushy brown balls… so amidst the horrific humidity and rain, she has continued to produce perfect pickable flowers on her signature long thornless stems! Ours is not to wonder why…just to appreciate what comes.