After the dust and heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!
How it clatters along the roofs,
Like the tramp of hoofs
How it gushes and struggles out
From the throat of the overflowing spout!
Across the window-pane
It pours and pours;
And swift and wide,
With a muddy tide,
Like a river down the gutter roars
The rain, the welcome rain.
The American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote How Beautiful is the Rain in 1842. The rain would have been much welcomed by gardeners and farmers in 2025!
It has been a summer exactly the opposite of our cold wet summer of 2024. It could be seen coming back in May when the green grass was straw coloured and in a drought then. What followed brought back memories of 1976 to most people. But I recall the dry summer of 1995, and the glory of 1959 comes to mind to those of us who can remember it.
The effects of summer 2025 on our crops has been challenging. My turnips have had poor growth – even though I watered them thoroughly from my water butts. The heat was so strong many plants of all kinds were not able to take it up fast enough. Early potatoes coped well enough, but my lates are now flagging so we will have to see when they are cropped.
Farmers had a June harvest, and the last time I remember that happening was back in 1976. But again it has resulted in lower crop yields.
Flowering plants in containers were all hit. Man has all down the ages wished he could control the weather to no avail. We can’t have it all ways, we get what we are given. So I just put my faith in God and do the best I can.
My advice last month on preparing the ground to sow down a lawn in September will have to wait until the land has had the rain, no use in sowing in bone dry soil. But at least if you have made preparations, which I recommend, you are all ready for when the rain does eventually arrive.
Gargrave is a favourite place of mine, so I attended the village Agricultural Show held on a warm day in August. There were marvellous sheep classes and horses. I made for the horticulture exhibits. There were many fine flowers and vegetables, eggs and cakes.
I found one of the many exhibitors, Heidi Gannon, a local expert gardener from Gargrave, the winner of plethora of prizes including (pictured) the class in the floral arrangement of ‘Afternoon tea’, in which Heidi used in a very artistic way to gain first prize with her exhibit ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’. Well done Heidi!
Keep up the liquid feeding of your hanging baskets and window boxes and continue to dead head to prolong flowering. Cuttings can be taken of Fuchsias and Geraniums. Take none flowering growth four to five inches long and insert in to John Innes seed compost, at this time of September they should root in around three to four weeks.
When rooted, place into small pots of John Innes compost number 2. It is such cuttings as these that are on sale in late February in nurseries.
Now is the time to think of maintenance. Does the greenhouse need a coat of wood preserver and that shed as well? The first couple weeks of September can be an ideal time for such jobs.
It’s also time to be thinking of the spring to come. What bulbs should we plant? The Great Autumn Flower Show in Harrogate is an ideal spot to find them. The UK’s premier autumn gardening event takes place in the grounds of Newby Hall on September 19 and 21. It is a must for every gardener. The Harrogate Autumn Show promises both beautiful floral displays as well as exceptional produce from the allotment.
Yorkshire’s famous gardener Graham Porter will be on hand to give you advice on your garden at the garden advice bureau.
Garden inspiration for both expert and occasional gardener will feature in abundance. Visitors to the show can also enjoy Newby Hall’s award winning gardens, live talks and demonstrations, great garden shopping and stunning floral art installations inside the Hall.
It also hosts the National Onion Championships. I recall a couple of blow-ins from Texas who hadn’t been to the show before and were amazed at the onions. One of them got hold of the microphone and told us, in a big booming voice, of their astonishment at the entries, saying: “’We come from Texas where we like to do things big, big, big, but when we came to Harrow- gate (he paused in between the Harrow and gate) and saw the size of your onions, well we had to think twice about it!”
* Gardener’s Delight by Peter Fawcett is available by emailing peterfawcett0@gmail.com or calling Spenborough Stationers on (01274) 873026.
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