By Isle of Wight Observer
I’ve just had a look at my article from last August and what a difference a year makes.
This time last year, we hadn’t seen a drop of rain since April. I think the last few weeks have certainly made up for it!
There has certainly been an autumnal feel in the air with temperatures struggling to reach above 20°C. This week, though, the sun has finally come back out to give us some well-needed warmth.
Our gardens are looking lush and green and our seasonal vegetables are thriving. Runner and French beans are in abundance, and even our root crops are doing well this year after a slow start. The lack of rain early on in the year affected the onion harvest this year but, hey, we can’t have everything!
A lot of perennial plants and shrubs will have put on a burst of new growth so now is a good time for taking cuttings.
Try and keep up with weeding, otherwise they will set seed and become a worse problem next year.
There is an old saying: “One year’s seeds, seven years weeds.” That’s because weed seeds can lay dormant for up to seven years, so it is a constant battle to keep them at bay.
There are still some more flower shows on the Island to look forward to, so please go along and support your local show.
Your sweet peas should be coming to an end now, so you can always save some seed ready for next year and although many summer flowers are beginning to fade, others, such as dahlias, are coming into their own. Late August and September they are at their best, bringing a welcome splash of colour when much of the garden is looking tired. Deadhead them regularly, or cut bunches for the house, to promote more flowers to come. If your dahlia blooms are attacked by earwigs just rub petroleum jelly up the stem between the bud and top pair of leaves.
I’ll soon be off on my travels to some of the top dahlia shows in the country over the coming weeks, so fingers crossed for some settled weather.