Jo's News and Views No 7 July 2022

Hello Everyone

What a month this has turned out to be! I doubt any of us thought we would see 40 degrees in this country but that is what has happened. I think we have all seen our lawns turn yellow and the leaves start to fall from the trees. Unfortunately, the garden at Myddelton has suffered as well because of the lack of rain.

Earlier in the month the garden was still looking lovely. The view from the Front Lawn towards Bowling Green Lawn was still full of colour, photo 1. The rose trees along the path beside Bowling Green Lawn were still flowering and looked lovely, photo 2.

In the Rose Garden the Rosa bracteata was flowering, photos 3 and 4. This was pruned back hard earlier in the year but seems all the happier for it.

Mr Bowles wrote about Rosa bracteata in his 'My Garden' trilogy.

".... R bracteata, which, if only it were a shade hardier and began to flower earlier in the season, would be the finest of white Roses. As it is, however, I love it dearly, and it grows on one of the four buttresses, or whatever is the right name for the legs of the old Market Cross ...."

Nearby in the Pergola Garden is the shrub Calycanthus floridus known as Carolina Allspice. The flowers are dark red and have fragrant scent, photo 5. I always think they have dried up as the tips of the flowers turn brown but this is typical of the shrub.

Moving on to the Kitchen Garden there is an abundant crop of Conference pears on the fruit arch this year, photos 6 and 7. I shall look forward to the harvest later in the year. Also here are the Cynara cardunculus or Cardoon also known as Artichoke Thistles. The flowers are striking and are a very beautiful shade of lilac, photo 9.

By the middle of last week nearly all the lawns had turned yellow including this one at the side of the house, photo 10.

In the backyard of the house against one of the walls is the splendid Campsis radicans or Red Trumpet Vine, photo 11. I think you can work out how it has earned its common name from this photo, No 12. This is a very good source of nectar for the insects.

For the fauna section this month I was excited to see two junvenile Green Woodpeckers in the overflow car park when I arrived one morning, photo 13. Sorry about the quality of the photo but I was excited! The borders of Teucrium x lucidrys around the Kitchen Garden are another good source of nectar for the bees, photo 14. The borders seem to hum as you walk past them because there are so many bees foraging there. Down in the Rock Garden I found a Speckled Wood butterfly, photo 15 and finally another chance to enjoy the Beautiful demoiselle, photo 16. It may look like a dragonfly but is in fact a large damselfly.

Short and sweet this month but hopefully we get some much needed rain soon to help all of our gardens, especially at Myddelton House.

I hope you have enjoyed this wander around the garden with me.

Best Wishes

Jo