Just follow your nose...
Roasting hot weather again – the garden is looking lovely in the sunshine, and there’s the scent of sweet peas as you walk along the willow archway.
We are very busy harvesting, thinning seedlings, re-sowing, getting the last of the planting done and trying to stay on top of weeding and mowing. The new Learning Centre opens next week, then we have the RHS AGM here on Thursday, closely followed by our GYO weekend – no pressure then...
All the young seedlings emerging, newly planted crops, and podding and leafy plants need a lot of watering in this heat, so first thing in the morning is time to have fun moving sprinklers around and trying not to get soaked!
Last week in all the rain, we treated the raised beds with nematodes to control the ground slugs; it will be repeated a couple of times more over the season. Noticed also that the cabbage white 
butterflies are out so soon time to apply the biological controls for their caterpillars before they start chomping on the brassicas.
Cut flowers and herbs are looking fantastic, but star attraction this week is the sea kale in full flower, smelling strongly of honey and literally buzzing with bees. This and the herbs and poppies seem most popular, but the catmint is covered with bumblebees. Most noticeable scent is the curry plant…mmmm