Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

It’s rained approximately seven times in the past two months, and it’s interesting to note which plants do best in semi-drought conditions. In Pollinator Patch there are very few flowering annuals and perennials that have needed watering, apart from the sunflower seedlings; most of the established perennials seem drought hardy and have been blooming profusely.

What a torrential rainstorm on Monday; it was like being in a monsoonal deluge as the rain lashed, the thunder crashed and the lightning flashed! After what felt like a month’s downpour in an afternoon

Seasonal and interesting advice from RHS about how to manage lawns and grass in a period of drought: “Grass growth will start to slow down in dry conditions, so mow less often and raise the cutting height to let the grass get longer, which should encourage deeper rooting. Close cutting in dry weather can weaken the grass and make it more vulnerable…

I went to a very informative talk on garden bees at RHS Wisley last week, presented by bee enthusiast Jean Vernon. In the UK we have just one variety of honey bee, over 250 varieties of solitary bee

Last Sunday we held our annual Plant Sale – a great success, despite what had been a difficult early growing season – the waiting crowds had to be held by our vigilant marshalls!