Time waits for no man. I know this, but seriously, someone needs to tell 2016 to slow down a bit, I’m sure it’s going much too fast. Or is this another sign of me getting old? It feels like summer has barely begun, and yet also that autumn is just around the corner.

Nature certainly doesn’t wait for you either, it romps away whether you’re there to see it or not. The plot has grown so much in the past month, I can hardly believe it. Here is the top section on July 19th:

And less than 3 weeks later on Aug 7th:

Bright orange calendulas are sandwiched between yellow mustard and red nasturtiums, making for a lovely harmonious blend of colour, that was obviously 100% planned!

The nasturtiums are completely taking over the squashes…

… who are attempting to escape by climbing up the sweetcorn. It’s a riot!

A final row of Charlotte potatoes have been harvested. I was worried that leaving these in the ground, after chopping the tops back, would be an open invitation to the slugs. But they’re mostly okay. A handful had been attacked by eelworm (I think) and there’s a tiny bit of scab here and there, but most are perfect.

And the courgette glut continues along with a cucumber glut now too. I’ve started (just out of interest) to keep a running tally of the courgettes. So far I’m up to 42 from 3 plants. That’s a mixture of very small to pretty large, and that doesn’t include the couple of mini marrows that I’m growing for marrow and ginger jam. I say mini, they certainly won’t be by now. I’ve had a more modest 4 or 5 cucumbers, but they’re coming thick and fast now.

My journal has been somewhat updated, though I’m still a month behind. I’ll catch up one of these days.

Finally, just a little announcement to say that tea towels are now available in my Etsy shop. There are 3 designs (pictures on the washing line above) which you can buy individually or as a set of all 3.