Kolkwitzia Gazanias,UK Garden Centres

Hello everyone its Gill, hope you are having a good week,

I am a little early this week due to the fact that I am going caravaning this weekend to Worcestershire and visiting a village that I lived in as a little girl - Wolverley, a pretty pretty lovely village. The main reason for my visit though is that I am meeting up with two of my cousins that I havent seen since I was about 12-14yrs old. They lived opposite my Nan and Grandad in Notting Hill. Ray the older one lives in North Wales and he and his wife are meeting us in Shrewsbury.

Ray's sister Sue who lives in Jersey is flying over to meet me too, I am so excited. I don't have any contact with my Dad's family since he and Mum have passed on so this is wonderful. Ray and I met on Friends Reunited. We have found a campsite for adults only (wonderful, kids stay up till all hours these days and when you are in a caravan you hear every bit of noise) on a farm in the middle of the countryside. The pics look lovely, hills all around.

Anyway this is a gardening blog, not a Gill blog you would never know hehehe!!!

If you want a recommendation for a pretty bush, buy a kolkwitzia. Alan Tichmarsh said on one of his programmes that every garden should have one. At the time I couldnt afford one so bided my time. They were about £11 for a plant about 1ft tall.

I saw one in Keydells, Horndean at exactly that price and got it with a gardening voucher that my lovely friends buy me for Christmas and birthdays. That was about 3 years ago and you wouldn't believe how much it has grown in that time. I would guess that it is about 6ft across and 5 or 6ft tall. It has smallish pink flowers with an orange throat, an unusual combination of colours but it works. Another plant that he said is a must is a verbena bonariensis, a tall gangly purple flowered plant. These are usually about £5.99 in garden centres but don't buy one. If you spend less than half of that on a packet of seeds you will end up with thousands of them, they are so easy to grow. They are perrenials too, and usually flower the first year. I have had them in several gardens now. They do grow very tall, about 5-6ft so place them carefully. They are spindly so you look beyond them to other flowers beyond. Oh also they self seed everywhere and I do mean everywhere so actually you really need to only grow the one seed. The following year there are trillions of them, plenty to spread around friends and neighbours! They look good cut and placed with other flowers.

I have dead headed my buddleias this week, hopefully they will flower a second time round this year, I have done this for the insects, mainly the bees.

The runners are coming in thick and fast now, yummy!!!! I have picked that cucumber and several tomatoes. Do you remember I was having problems with the toms going black at the bottom before they had chance to ripen, well my neighbour says that is due to irregular watering. Yes he is right or was, I am watering every other night in the greenhouse now and it seems to have stopped, fingers crossed. For me the very best flavoured tomato I have ever grown is a yellow cherry one. (They never get to the table because I cant resist them when I am in the greenhouse), don't tell anyone ;)

I went to Hayling Island on Sunday last with my grandson, James, he is 7. The sun was great because there was a lovely breeze too. We only stayed there for four hours but that hasn't stopped me looking like a beetroot the next day, must have been hotter than I thought hehe. Whilst there I saw 5 buzzards spiralling up on a thermal, what a magnificent sight! It was even more special to share this with my grandson and explain to him what they were doing.

All the butterflies seem to have left us other than the cabbage whites, I wonder where they go? Spain if they have any sense.

The dahlias are starting to look good, you can't beat them can you at the end of summer right through to the middle of autumn? My gazanias are still magnificent, absolutely vivid colours, I will definitely buy these again next year. These were bought from Brambridge garden centre, they were the best value that I saw this year.

If you live in Hampshire and have never been to this garden centre, then go. I can highly recommend it for the plants and the quality of their food. I haven't been for a few months but when I go and see any bargains I will let you know. Tomorrow my friends and I are going to Forest Lodge, then after we have eaten there we will go on to Country Market 5 minutes away. Here you can buy vegetables that they grow themselves on the farm and also pick your own.

Anyway you must be getting fed up with me rambling on. Have a lovely August Bank Holiday because I will. Happy weeding hehe! Gill x