Lights, camera, action…

Well we’ve been beavering away like nobody’s business the last week or so because Keith somehow managed to agree that the garden should feature on a Border TV slot. This seemed to me to fly somewhat in the face of my plans to eschew the efforts of an open day this year, but as he cheerfully sailed off to Wales for a dinner, leaving a list of jobs, the bold boy was optimistic. A great deal of truculent weeding and mulching by the distaff contingent followed…..Keith returned from being the toast of Cardiff to commend our efforts and then, somewhat inexplicably, committed himself to clearing the leaves behind Luigis. I did briefly wonder if it wasn’t a gardening slot but rather one of those “How Clean is your House?” exposés. However, the crew arrived yesterday and, thankfully, did not run disdainful fingers over the sills. They also seemed pleasingly blind to the 5 foot nettles which I had yet to get to. The whole being interviewed thing was very odd though. I would answer a question to general acclaim and then it would turn out that there was a shadow or a leaf in the way and so we all had to do it again. The spontanaity wilted a bit on the third go and I rather suspect I started talking utter twaddle. And oh my Lord what must we have looked like?. Keith wore THOSE SHORTS and to add insult pulled up his socks. I was in gardening dungarees throughout, topped by a rather ratty cardi donned first thing because it was chilly and which I was then stuck in all day because of “continuity”. The only glamour was introduced by Lyra and the Coos who all pouted and preened to order. I can’t help but think it will be hilarious…..

In other gardening news, the clematis I have been trying in vain to grow up our exochorda (and which I feared dead) has unexpectedly appeared and flowered at last. I have baby peaches on the potted peach tree and loads of figs coming. My bearded Iris are getting into full swing and even the ones I moved in the spring have mustered a few flower spikes. Finally, there is a flower on the much moved Patty Plum poppy. I hope this is the start of a trend and I won’t have to wait another five years for the next one.. The rather fancy intersectional peonies are starting to flower and we have excellent buds on the fancier herbaceous ones so perhaps the feeding earlier in the year has paid off. I can’t decide if the waterlilies are late (two flowers so far just) or everything else is early. The dry weather certainly has had an impact; as well as bringing things on early, all the tall plants are quite a bit shorter than usual and even some of the hardy geraniums look stressed. My poor lupins have had the worst of it though, with a plague of whitefly. The bugs I ordered by post have made a little headway, but I think I should have got in earlier and several plants have had to be ferociously chopped back. I think I’ll need to be saving the lupin seed and replanting in the spring. Thankfully we’ve had a little rain yesterday and last night so I’m hoping things will rebound.

Anyway, I’m off to hospital for the hip job tomorrow so am hanging up the spade and barrow for a few months and will be restricting myself to watching the birds (the house martins are back, there’s a blackbird nesting in the cold frame and two pheasants with broods under the hedge), idling under the wisteria and monitoring my cutting plantation (where project banana is now underway).