The garden is in its stride. Roses unfurling in every corner and perennials jostling each other to claim their spaces. Aphids and ladybirds are fighting it out, the bees thrum busily in the borders and birdsong fills the air. It must be summer. Here is six from this week’s garden.
One
The foreground is taken up by persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’. It spreads, so far quite reasonably but it’s one to watch. Behind is Rosa ‘Jaqueline du Pré and behind that the thalictrum ‘Black Stocking’ from last week, all combining to fill a shadier area.
Two
On a sunnier fence the rambling rose ‘Wedding Day’ is opening up. The first buds are yellow turning briefly to apricot before settling into white. Only flowering once, it’s important to enjoy every moment.
Three
The final rose for this week is ‘Wisley’, chosen because it tolerates some shade. Here it is probably in the shade for about the half the day. It does well, the colour stays true and does not fade away as it might in areas of stronger sunshine.
Four
On to more prosaic elements of the garden. The potatoes in a container are romping away in terms of foliage. I hope this translates to a good crop. They look better than those in the ground, they are certainly receiving more watering.
Five
Aah, sad times now. Earlier in the year I thought the Japanese anemones had caught the frost. But now I think it may be more serious. Some searching suggests crown rot. The leaves are crinkling up at the edges and new shoots are wilting away. I have cut out all the damaged foliage but it seems to be spreading through the plant. Looks like I will have to say goodbye to this one and sadly to the one next to it. Any advice gratefully received.
Six
Apples are forming and falling as the June drop takes effect. All the apples from the garden are made into apple juice. This year our supply of juice has already run out and we are buying from the supermarket. Even though we are choosing English apple juice the taste is nowhere near as good. Roll on harvest time when we can go back to raising a glass of the home grown again.
We are heading for a heatwave on Sunday and Monday. The weekend will involve watering, especially the greenhouse tomatoes. The coriander looks ready to bolt, but mint and basil look sturdy. I still have annuals to plant out, but it feels like the garden is moving into a stable period when deadheading and watering are the most important jobs. But most important of all is taking some time to sit and enjoy it all. Keep cool and enjoy your weekend and perhaps take a moment to chat with other SOSers on The Propagator’s site.😎
n20gardener 
Love that combo of periscaria, rose and thalictrum in your first photo, and I think I enjoy the ramblers even more because they are short-lived, wedding day looks lovely. As for the Japanese anemone, well I have to say mine often look like that! I am always cutting away the unsightly leaves and they seem to bounce back.
Home-pressed apple juice, how delicious!
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Encouraging (?) to hear that I’m not alone with the anemones. I’ll keep a watchful eye on them. I also have a ‘Wedding Day’ in a shadier spot so I manage to eke out the display for a bit longer.
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I also love your shady combination of persicaria, rose and Thalictrum. Jacqueline du Pré looks a lovely rose 🌹
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JduP is so pretty close up, the anthers are beautiful!
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Gorgeous persicaria flowers !
Regarding the potatoes they look like mine. I guess one more month and they will be ready.
Last rose is very pretty 😍
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My few anemones do this regularly. For them, it might just be the arid weather. I never investigated. Whatever the problem is, they have been surviving with it for years. If they survive long enough, I will eventually relocate some to a more favorable situation.
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I think this is a first for me with anemones, but they are in a drier spot. I won’t take drastic action yet then!
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Lovely roses! I think tonytomeo is right re dry weather as mind do that too sometimes but cutting back seems to do the trick.
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I hope so, I’m down to half a plant with the cutting back!
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My Japanese anemones always get horrid black spotted leaves which I cut off, I don’t know the cause but it doesn’t seem to affect the flowers. I managed to cut them right down last autumn and the new leaves looked good to begin with, but they are not now. And we haven’t had the temperatures the rest of the UK has had! I’d just cut the leaves off if I were you.
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Some sort of leaf problem seems to be common. I haven’t had anything like this before, dry curled edges and wilting new growth. I’m cutting way like mad and am down to half a plant! If that goes the same way I think I will dig up and try something else. A mystery.
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