Up and downs of gardening.

This was a small cutting four years ago, it has a lovely perfume.

It's been a strange year weather wise so far, some things in the garden were early and then got frosted in May but other things are very late, held back by the earlier cold spell and low summer temperatures. It's years like this I'm glad we have a tunnel, but the one thing that we decided not to put in there were courgettes, they always do a takeover bid, however this is one year that we should have done so,

First pickings.

we are only now getting any courgettes, and it doesn't look as though it will be the usual bumper crop.

Sun Gold, the only variety we grow.

The tomatoes have only now started to ripen, but the cucumbers started producing a month ago, salads have rather been of the menu until now.
We have had a great crop of soft fruit despite the best efforts of the wild birds and the broad beans have also produced a great crop.

Lots of well filled pods.

We have frozen sixteen bags of beans and cut the plants back, we might get them producing new shoots for a very late crop, in any case we will leave the roots in to help fix the nitrogen and also so the earth is not left bare.

A duckling that thinks she's a goose.

The goslings and Muscovy duckling that we hatched ten weeks back are looking lovely, unfortunately we think all three goslings are male, the duckling we are sure is female.

Male dominated family.

They are very much a little family, and we had no intentions of eating any of them but what do we do with three ganders? We will have to try to do a swap with someone who has spare geese and needs a gander or two!
Planting for late crops continues, curly kale, which we had forgotten to do earlier, and another sowing of French beans and Mange tout peas should give us another crop in October, providing we don't get any early frosts.

First of the cuttings, lots more to do.

I have started taking cuttings of Dianthus and Lavender, two plants I don't think you can every have enough of. I will also take some cuttings from the Penstemons, they have survived the last three winters but are not reliably frost hardy.

On our way back from a visit to Foxford mills

we discovered yet another old ruin, this time a castle.

Ballylahan Castle was built in 1239 by Jorden de Exeter, for his wife, who by all accounts seemed to be a bit of a domineering woman.

The castle must have been a splendid sight it's heyday, it is easy to imagine it former splendour.