Quite contrarily is my answer! After the slug onslaught the aphids have arrived. Blackfly on the dahlias, nasturtiums and echinops and greenfly elsewhere. It hasn’t rained here in yonks, the onions are ‘delicately’ sized and the parsnips are refusing to play ball. They are tempting me with one or two possible cotyledons but maybe I am deceiving myself. I continue to water in hope rather than expectation. Let’s see if there are any silver bells or cockle shells to be found:
One
The containers, planted up in May, are coming along well. Cheering me up on the whole, until I realise they are verging on the dessicated!
Two
The carrots, that were also proving a little reluctant, finally came good in a third direct sowing. This time I cast them onto the soil and sprinkled a little potting compost over the top. Who knows why they decided to germinate this time! I just have to keep them watered now.
Three
The courgettes, bought as small plants from the Finchley Horticultural Society plant sale, are no trouble. Oh, I forgot. They do need watering. But maybe the drought conditions will keep them on the manageable side. The lovely flower and yellow fruit cheer me up on the way to the parsnip inspection.
Four
The gooseberries had quite a late pruning and the crop does not seem so bumper this year. But is this because I have yet to net them from the birds? Sigh, I do have a lot of netting to do. The blackcurrants, which I really took in hand – thinning them out ruthlessly – are doing well. They are beginning to ripen, but you guessed it, they haven’t been netted yet either.
Five
Contrary, but in a good way, is the lemon tree. Looking for all the world like it was dead and gone after a good chilling in the greenhouse over winter, it was subjected to not one but two cut backs and has responded well. The glossy green leaves and the beautiful scent coming from the one or two flowers it has put out more than make up for the odd shape. Good to see.
Six
A rose, Scepter’d Isle. Absolutely lovely. These are my pretty maids all in row!
I hope your plots, veg patches and gardens are giving you joy. There are lots of superb photos of the strawberry crop out there on twitter, which are underlining the need to replace my tired specimens, inherited from previous owner and cropping poorly. Visit The Propagator, our host’s blog for more gardening encouragements: good things we can aspire to and duff things that we share the pain of. No grammar corrections please! 🙂
n20gardener 
Your last picture with these roses … stunning ! It makes me want to smell them …
I’m happy to see your lemon tree back and with such healthy leaves. Fingers crossed for the next few months to continue its recovery, to be ready for next winter. About carrots, courgette, blackcurrants, gooseberries, I’m about the same stage as you, maybe 10 days ahead
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Interesting, but I think with your rain you will have better crops. I think the pigeons are already eating the gooseberries – spotted them today😱
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I don’t have many pigeons but blackbirds and thrushes are greedy for my red currants. I put a 10m fleece all around until they ripen. Ugly but effective!
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That is an interesting idea. I can do that more quickly than I can put in all the canes, drape the netting, tie in etc etc. Maybe that is the way forward.
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That rose looks great. So healthy! In Devon we get a lot of Black Spot so you have to be clever with your photo angles !
My carrots have been a disaster again this year. We have no water at the allotment so they refuse to germinate in the dry.
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Black spot will be taking hold here I’m sure. It is so dry, can’t believe April in the garden was so wet.
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Lovely squash. Mine are flowering but no fruit as yet.
Parsnips. Don’t get me started. The first year I grew them they were fabulous. Last year I sowed seeds twice and not one germinated. I had even bought the special pelleted seeds. This year I tried again and no germination. Used to be they were quite cheap at the grocery. Now the chefs had discovered them and they are pricey. I’m going to give up on parsnips.
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I really love having home grown parsnips and I will be quite sad if this batch doesn’t come good. They are part of our Christmas Day. I might have to pretend!!
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Hmmm for a person who has never really liked roses I’m pretty sure your rose has converted me. Stunning!
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I do hope so! I am a great fan of them 🙂
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Have you checked out Ali “themindfulgardener”? She loves roses too and just got a new macro lens. Her photos make you want to drool!
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I’ll have to head over there. I think I’ve got room for a couple more!!
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Awesome. I think you’ll like her blog. I do.
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That pink rose is a stunner! Can’t believe you have squash or courgettes already. Ugh, they’re a good month off for us and I’m an oddball who can’t get enough.
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They are just starting here, others have been picking them already!
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Beautiful Sceptr’d Isle rose and your little lemon tree looks happy. Have you ever had fruit? 🍋
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We had one last year! But left it on the tree too long. Discovered that you have to pick them as soon as ripe otherwise they dry out. The others that were growing didn’t survive the winter. But I have to say the scent of the flowers is worth it alone.
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Wow that rose, I am drooling! Love the pellies too. And there is nothing like a plant that comes back from the verge, the lemon looks great. A good combination of beautiful and tasty!
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My lemon tree is finally perking up too although I keep watering it from above with our hard water and leaving white splodges on the glossy new leaves. MUST stop doing that!
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That reminds me I must get out and spray my roses tomorrow. Soapy water for the aphids. Uncle toms rose tonic for the roses. I better my soft fruit last year. Didn’t make a blind bit of difference, the birds still had most of it. Not bothering this year. Keeping my eye on the gooseberries too, last year the sawfly got them all, stripped them bare.
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Remind me why we do this!!
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Like your other readers, I admire that Scepter’d Isle rose. We had gooseberries in the garden when our children were young. I went off to work every day thinking the bushes weren’t bearing any fruit, but the children confessed (years later) that they had eaten them all.
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That’s a lovely memory. I think my losses are due to pigeons – less loveable!
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Lovely 6 love all the produce I bet the host is well jealous of the carrots but the Rose at the end is just stunning
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I agree with everyone else, the rose is stunning. The geraniums in the first photo complement each other so well. No rain here in North Somerset either but plenty of aphids of all colours. Still haven’t seen a single ladybird in the garden this year
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Saw my first ladybird yesterday but then discovered blackfly on the French beans. I don’t remember any blackfly at all last year.
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Is courgette all squash, or just summer squash. That name sounds more appealing than ‘squash’
That lemon tree looks quite happy. It seems to be of the ‘Lisbon’ group, like a ‘Eureka’ or something as such. It is probably one of the Italian cultivars.
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I think courgette is just your zucchini I only know the lemon tree as four seasons. I am reading a book by Helena Attlee called the land where lemons grow – all about the history of citrus fruit growing in Italy. Travel, food and gardening combined. Making me want to visit Italy.
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Four seasons? Is that the cultivar? There happens to be another citrus grower in Fremont near here known as ‘Four Winds’.
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Yes, apparently the proper name is Lunario and it is an Italian cultivar – my how you are improving my gardening knowledge! It is one that ‘can’ provide fruit all year – but not in my garden!!
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