August – What’s Happening in My Garden? Woes and Wows!

It doesn’t seem possible that we’re already halfway through August! Where does the time go? As I pause from my gardening chores to take a coffee break, I reflect on my Dipladenia, Hydrangea, and Pelargonium challenges, introduce the latest members of Piglet’s plant family, and perform a happy dance at this year’s bumper crop of tomatoes.

Dipladenia Woes

I really have no excuse for this shameful neglect and the plant’s demise as I walk past this red Diplandenia several times a day. It’s been on my to-do list for weeks. Today, I discovered the poor thing was infested with mealy bugs. I pruned the badly infected areas and laboriously removed the mealybugs from each leaf and stem with a piece of rag and a soft toothbrush and applied Rose Clear and soapy water.

I removed the plant from the pot, which was also infested with mealy bugs. Released the crusty soil, washed the roots, and then repotted the plant in a new pot with general-purpose compost. Although Dipladenia grows well in full sun or partial shade, I’ve sited the pot in a sheltered position with late afternoon sun until it recovers from so much attention.

She looks a lot happier, yes?

Hydrangea Woes

More shameful neglect. But this plant is a case of out of sight, out of mind. I think it’s time I also gave this plant a birthday. It desperately needs repotting, feeding and pruning.

This is the same plant in May 2021.

Pelargonium Woes

I have not neglected this plant—I promise. The stems are rotting and breaking off. I’ve fed, watered and removed all the dead leaves, flowers, and debris from the soil several times.

The plant looked like this less than a month ago. I wonder if its demise is due to the high humidity we have experienced over the last few weeks.

Purple or Thai Basil

I went out to buy normal green basil and returned home with a purple variety. Apparently, the garden centre has no idea when and if the standard basil will be delivered. Sigh. I think it’s time to break open a packet of seeds, as I’ve been looking for weeks.

Cyclamen

One of the Six on Saturday bloggers posted a picture of their cyclamen, and I had an …um…Wow! I like that plant moment! Imagine my surprise when I walked into our tiny local garden centre and I saw a cyclamen—I could not resist. And a bonus: It prefers the shade, so it’s perfect for our shady terrace.

Vegetable Garden Update

The main raised bed, apart from a couple of aubergine plants and a squash that is trying to decide whether to live, is now covered in membrane and plastic crates to suppress the weeds. I won’t plant anything here now until autumn when hopefully we will have some rain.

I have three courgette (zucchini) plants growing in pots. Two raised beds and a couple of large pots with black tomatoes. I also have a couple of pots of aubergines and several crates of lettuce. The bed in the foreground is overrun with self-seeded physalis, and lurking somewhere in there are three cucumber plants. The zucchini and cucumber plants I grew from seed are now ready to plant on.

Another Wow! This is our latest harvest of tomatoes, and Mr. Piglet informs me we have lots more still to harvest. It looks like I will be busy making chutney this weekend.

I posted my zucchini and tomato chutney recipe on Foodie Friday

Foodie Friday Challenge – Let’s Talk About Food – A Glut of Tomatoes

Dipladenia Useful Information:

https://www.flowerknowhow.com/comprehensive-dipladenia-care-from-planting-to-pruning/

After all this hard work, I need another coffee. Time to check out Jim’s Gardening Six on Saturday and Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share.