Not enough to wet a midge
James Alexander-Sinclair has been judging show gardens in the baking heat at sandy Sandringham and talking to the BBC about how to manage the hosepipe ban, so it's fitting that his three picks for the week help us (and the trees) cope with a hot present and, potentially, an even hotter future.
Hullo!
James here.
I have been charging around this week, beginning at the RHS Sandringham Flower Show: the first show in East Anglia, spread across a sprawling site in the grounds of the Sandringham Estate, courtesy of His Nibs The King. My goodness, Norfolk is terribly dry. I thought we were a bit crispy here in Oxfordshire, but there the sandy soil is being blown about as if we were in an Oklahoma dustbowl. Miraculously there was some drizzle on Tuesday morning: we all got excited, but it was, frankly, a bit pathetic.
Not enough to wet a midge.
I was on judging duty at the show, something I always enjoy. Garden judging is a pretty exhaustive and thorough process, but always good fun. I wrote about how it all works (there's even a snapshot of the scoring sheet) on the Garden Collective a year or so ago, and you can read about it if you have a moment.
James Alexander-Sinclair
There will be spare tickets going if you are in the area and fancy some entertainment (and some new plants). The Show runs until to Sunday 26th July.
Beat the ban
We also got hit with a hosepipe ban this week, so I have been on BBC Radio Oxford talking about gardens. I am not usually summoned for practical advice but these are my top four drought-busting pearls of wisdom:
- Never water lawns. They are not dead, just having a lie down.
- Protect the plants most precious to you by cutting back any crispy leaves and carrying water to them in cans.
- Bath water is easily moved from bath to garden with a small pond pump attached to a hosepipe and dangled out of the window.
- Make a note of the plants that are thriving in this weather, and plant more of them.
Heated topics
I am not the only one preoccupied by the weather. All three of our featured writers this week have climate change on their minds, so if the heat got the better of you and you missed them, here is your chance to catch up.
All three are available as audio versions too, read by the author, if you would rather listen while you cart watering cans around the garden. Just click on the bookmark to go straight to the post and read or listen as you choose.
On Monday, Jane Perrone gave us a very personal, and very honest, take on garden burnout: the kind that creeps up on even the most devoted among us.
Jane Perrone
On Wednesday, Matt Pottage wrote a cracking piece on why we need to be far more imaginative about planting trees, in gardens and along streets alike. His argument is simple and rather urgent: plant this autumn, because our future selves will be grateful for the shade.
Matthew Pottage
And we finished the week with Joe Swift on the sand gardens springing up all over the place. A passing trend, or a sensible response to a changing climate?
What I'm doing this weekend
In my own garden this weekend I will be doing a fair bit of rushing about with buckets and watering cans, but I will also be sitting down with my Garden Book to note which plants here are revelling in the heat and which think it is the giddy limit. A weekend of admin, then, rather than intensive gardening.
I will finish by making a statement I will almost certainly regret.
Roll on the rain.
Love,
James
PS. Before I go: tell me what is thriving in your garden this summer, and what has thrown in the towel. You can just sign in below to leave a comment and let me know. I am building quite a list.
