Summer drought. I could count on one hand the days when significant rain fell this summer. I know because I had to water all of the pots pretty much every day, even when a few drops wetted the paving. The green roof needed regular watering too (which was easy as I have a sprinkler up there). With back-to-back heat waves, gardening in the mid-day sun was too much for this Englishman, so late evening became the window for staying on top of maintenance.
Still, the effort paid off, and the garden has been beautiful. Roses, in particular, have thrived in the heat (given a couple of buckets of water per fortnight).
Keir Watson
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So let’s start with one of my favourite photos from the season that captures the sense of interminable heat, Red Gazanias:
June
The first week of June was overcast – a perfect time to have the box clipped. But after that it turned sunny, and stayed that way for the next ten weeks. Temperatures climbed, and the roses bloomed their hearts out. I got quite a lot done, in preparation for holiday season, and the garden was looking great.
I had my box professionally pruned in early June. The photo above shows how much clipped geometric topiary contributes to the garden.
Clipped box and formal hedges balance the chaotic perennials in my pond garden. (Note the pink geraniums in the foreground…)
As lovely as it is, this cranesbill takes too much space to the detriment of adjacent plants, so I dig it up and replant elsewhere.
Small beds, don’t need to do everything, and that sedum will be all the better given more space come September.
While deadheading the roses, I cut enough good stems to fill vases for the house…
This posy contains white foxglove, along with pale Lady of the Lake and Strawberry Hill.
Cherries did very well this year, whereas the apple trees produced almost nothing. A reaction to their excess yield last year?
The hot weather brought Hummingbird Hawk Moths to our shores. I captured this one feeding on purple Verbena ‘Santos’
My Mediterranean Pond Garden is flowering its heart out in June: mauve thyme forms a carpet, while yellow pokers poke up in the background.
A successful combination of yellow Kniphofia ‘Poco Citron’ contrasting with dark red stems of Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ and dotted purple Verbena rigida ‘Santos’
There are so many flowers in my garden that attract pollinators in June: roses, thyme and lavender to name a few.
Here is one of my Annabelle ‘Improved’ hydrangeas that I replaced last year. It shouldn’t flop in the rain. But what rain?
The textured shade plants alongside this path are always pleasing. The distant pink rose in a pot draws the eye, inviting you to explore the garden beyond.
In weather like this, roses in pots are hardly carefree! But like all the roses in my garden, this one was fantastic this year.
I’m not sure what caused this deformity, but it, along with all the healthy-looking agapanthus stems, were removed this year to try and get rid of my gall-midge problem.
My 20 year old red currant fan has past its prime. Time to remove it and think of a new direction for this part of the garden.
Related Reads
- Topiary Tour – Clipped evergreens in my Garden
- A Modern Romantic Rose Garden
- 4 White Hydrangeas (Long-Term Review)
July
The heatwave carried into July, with days above 30C. As well as the daily task of watering all the pots, I spent hours watering the garden in the evenings but even then it was too hot to get up much enthusiasm for active gardening. I managed to keep it going, but being peak holiday season, we spent a lot of time entertaining in the garden with family.
I grow several varieties of lily in pots in my garden and these are some of the latest flowering, filling the garden with scent in July.
A great drought tolerant herb forming neat dense mounds of aromatic foliage. Tiny pink pollinator magnet flowers erupt in July.
A dwarf form of the sea holly, but the flowers look unnaturally crammed together I think.
The birds were so thirsty and hot this summer. These two jealously guarded their turn drinking from the saucer we put out.
I have bought some of the hardier succulents to grow in my greenhouse, including Aloe striatula (green foliage) and Bergeranthus (yellow flower) shown here.
A surprisingly appropriate name for this scented Pelargonium that smells of Tango.
While we’re poking around in the greenhouse…. look! a butterfly resting on the peach tree! Does she think it’s a hedge I wonder?
This striking half-hardy succulent had sprouted a dozens offsets (‘pups‘), so I cut them off and potted them up.
This month I decided to refresh some of my shade beds. Here I’ve just removed two espalier apples.
This is the cherry tree (well, the trunk at least), that provides the cool canopy over my woodland garden. Note the bare fence where the currant fans once lived.
Related Reads
August
Above: My vitex tree (chaste-berry, Vitex agnus-castus) has really enjoyed the Southern Mediterranean climate that we’ve been experiencing this summer. As you can see, the roses are re-flowering well too.
At its peak in early August the garden was humming with hundreds of bumble bees that stayed busy from dawn til dusk. As the countryside beyond became parched brown, our boundary hedges remained green, but began to suffer as temperatures again soared into the low 30’s. I got the hose on them in time and they perked up. The wind blew in copious amounts of thistle seed (which, as i write, has sprouted everywhere.)
With family dominating my time, I didn’t get much gardening done in August, but it was nice to relax in the shade and enjoy the garden being well used with regular BBQs and children in paddling pools. One visiting child asked their parent if they could come back to “Keir’s park” another day!
In the field beyond the garden, only the thistles managed to remain green this far into summer. Often my garden and pond were covered in their wind-blown dander.
12th August – high up on the South Downs, I captured this sequence of images as the sun passed through 93% occlusion.
We’ve had these woodpeckers visit our garden on and off for two decades. They always visit the lawn – probably because of all the ant colonies.
Towards the end of August, I decided it was time to remove the spent flowers of my Vitex, lifting the crown to reclaim the paths.
I cut it back all round, and removed many lower branches. It might seem drastic, but I expect the vitex to bounce back next year. The plants beneath it are happier too.
After months of daily removal, I have finally got on top of the duckweed in my pond. Not gone, but minimised.
Featured in my Euphorbia post earlier this year. Still going strong at the end of summer.
I’ve kept up deadheading (sometimes pruning back quite hard) and the roses have kept flowering.
This delightful combo is yellow Anthemis/Cota tinctoria ‘E.C. Buxton’ and purple Aster ‘Mönch’
I cut down this climbing Iceberg rose (nearly to the ground) earlier in the year to help get rid of powdery mildew. It grew back fine, but after a six weeks of being clean, the mildew has started to return.
Even though I am cutting off its flowers, specimen pots like this one still look good for foliage alone, and I’ve not missed the flowers.
My cedar greenhouse is 16 years old, and needing bits to be repaired or replaced. This month I removed a rotten threshold and replaced the lower panel in this door.
Related Reads
- My 2 Year Plan to Control Agapanthus Gall Midge
- Chaste Tree — Vitex agnus-castus
- Five Great Drought-Tolerant Euphorbias
Final thoughts… I have got into a streak of renovation recently, digging out old plants, stripping back borders and planting new things. It might sound odd, but I’d forgotten how much fun it is, and how fresh it keeps the garden. I now look at plants that five years ago seemed like perfect choices and ask myself “do I really need you anymore?” — I’m appreciating simplicity and space at the moment. Anything too big, too unruly or simply too meh is now in my sights and I find myself making a mental note that they’re living on borrowed time. One example is my Iceberg roses (especially the climbing ones on my workshop) that keep succumbing to powdery mildew. I’m pretty sure they’re going to be gone soon. It’s just a matter of time… I can see the coming months bringing about more changes. I’ll tell you about them in my Autumn Diary.
Previous Garden Diary Posts
- Garden Diary — Spring 2026
- Garden Diary — Winter 2025/26 (Dec/Jan/Feb)
- Garden Diary — Autumn 2025 (Sep/Oct/Nov)
- Garden Diary — Summer 2025 (Jun/Jul/Aug)
- Garden Diary — Spring 2025 (Mar/Apr/May)
- Garden Diary — Winter 2025 (Jan/Feb)
- Garden Diary — Autumn/Winter 2024 (Oct/Nov/Dec)
- Garden Diary — Late Summer 2024 (Jul/Aug/Sep)
- Garden Diary — Early Summer 2024 (Apr/May/Jun)
- Garden Diary — Spring 2024 (Jan/Feb/Mar)
Thanks again for a very inspiting article!
My pleasure!
Keir! This was such a lovely read with a coffee this morning. I’d never heard of the Chaste Tree… and now wondering where I can fit one in! Love the idea of it being a ‘park’ for children, you must have the struck the perfect balance. Thank you for sharing.
So pleased you enjoyed it! Yes, I can vouch for the Chaste tree – it’s superficially like a buddleja, but more refined and stylish in every way.
Hello Keir ! Nice subject as usual ! Could you send me some pictures of your waterlily gonnère? Its just for my personnal use I love your pictures ☺️