JULY 08
4th July - most plants now in full bloom and looking good despite the gale force winds damaging a good few tall plants ( Bonsaris) that were not staked.
4 july - hydranger is back - it didn't flower last year because I got over zealous with the pruning, so I left it alone this year
The "bishop" putting on a lot of growth and flower buds starting to appear
need to move dwarf spiria which is covered by bishop and hydranger also move lavender which
is covered
4th july - the new 2008 plantings not doing bad
21st July - rudibekia in full bloom
4th july -area previously shaded by elderberry now improving in more light - wisteria sending up
lots of new growth
previous sown a packet of wild flowers in this border but also had bird seed feeders up in elderberry before it was pruned and some bird seed must have seeded itself because I'm not sure what are flowers and which strange bird seed plants !!
21st july - elderberry sending up lots of new
stems and climbing rose reached top of bird feeder
wisteria loves the "new" light and almost covered bear patch in 3 weeks ( see 2nd july picture)
4th July - rambling rose planting on June 14th starting to climb well
(a foot in 2 weeks)
Plumbago likes it's sunny spot - plenty of blue flowers
north facing border blooming - clematis in full flower
this pinky mauve plant is flowering well -
have to check out what it is (21st july)
this part of north facing border needs more fence cover
after liatris has finished flowering around 4th July
21st july - laurel a lot better after weevil killing
new leaves look good. Buddlia making good growth. mock orange finished flowering
passiflora starting to flower - bees love it
10th July - hanging baskets now in full flower ( petunias have
only just come out)
21st july - disappointed in hanging basket display this year - white double flower petunias rubbish
and trailing geraniums keep getting snapped off by weight of stalk and wind
nastursions all leaf and hardly any flower
need a different tactic for next year
21st july -hanging bags of busy lizzies still going strong after 3 months of flowering
3rd july - mange tout, sugar snaps, runners and potatoes
July 2008 weather
Unsettled for the most part, although a fine and hot spell towards the end.
1st to 4th: Fine and hot weather on the 1st came to end later in the day as heavy rain and thunderstorms broke-out in the west and spread eastwards during the night. This left the 2nd and 3rd a little cooler with a mix of sunshine and scattered heavy showers. The showers were particularly heavy and thundery in the south-west during the morning of the 2nd and again late evening and overnight. Chilly overnight on the 3rd/4th, with a minimum temperature of 3.5 °C being recorded at Upper Lambourn (Berkshire), then the 4th was generally fine and warm under the influence of a temporary ridge of high pressure. However, by the evening, wet and rather windy weather had moved into the south-west, before spreading north-eastwards to the rest of England during the night.
5th to 12th: The close proximity of low pressure gave very unsettled and cool weather throughout, with occasional heavy showers or longer spells of rain. As well as persistent heavy rain, it was also very windy in the south-west on the 5th, with gusts of 50 to 60 m.p.h. at Berry Head (Devon). Heavy thundery downpours across northern England on the 6th. The south-west bore the brunt of very heavy rain again on the 9th, with Plymouth (Devon) and Dunkeswell (Devon) receiving 24-hour totals of 40 and 49 mm respectively. Virtually every day saw heavy rain somewhere, though showers became lighter and well-scattered on the 12th.
13th to 15th: A ridge of high pressure gave generally warm and fair weather, although thickening cloud did eventually bring drizzle to the far west later on the 14th with further patchy rain to follow in the north and west on the 16th. The temperature reached 24.3 °C at Gravesend Broadness (Kent) on the 14th and 26.4 °C at Coningsby (Lincolnshire) on the 15th.
16th to 18th: Staying reasonably warm and fair across the south and east of England, while weather fronts brought spells of rain to the north and far west.
19th to 21st: A cool north-westerly air flow gave bright and breezy conditions, with a mix of sunshine and scattered showers. The showers most prevalent and quite heavy across eastern England, but few and far between towards the sunnier and slightly warmer south-west.
22nd to 28th: Generally more settled through this period as an increasingly hot and humid southerly flow took hold. The temperature reached 29.7 °C at Kew Gardens (London) on the 27th and 30.2 °C at Cambridge NIAB (Cambridgeshire) on the 28th. Much of England saw temperatures reaching the mid to high 20s on most days, with the main exception being along north-eastern coasts plagued by misty low cloud and sea fog. On the 25th, some thundery rain affected the south-west during the morning and the north-west during the evening. On the evening of the 26th, isolated thunderstorms broke-out across East Anglia and the East Midlands. Later on the 28th, more-widespread heavy rain and thunderstorms developed in the south-west, and spread north-eastwards during the evening and night. Hourly rainfall totals of 20-30 mm occurred across parts of the south-west Midlands on the evening of the 28th.
29th to 31st: Often wet and breezy in the west, while considerably warmer and drier across central and eastern areas. The rain turning heavy in the west later on the 30th and during the 31st, before moving north-eastwards during the evening and night of the 31st as a band of thundery downpours. On the 31st, Boulmer (Northumberland) recorded 52.2 mm, whilst the temperature reached 29.5 °C at Holbeach (Lincolnshire) on the 31st.