Our August garden, campfires and a mini-heatwave

You might like to make yourself a cup of tea and get comfy before reading this post as it is a long one. I did wonder whether I should divide it up but, hey, it’s the weekend and you might have time to stay a while…

We went away for a week and came home to monster raspberry plants, rampaging cucumbers, tomatoes heaving with fruit and two very vociferous cats (don’t worry, they had been well cared for by my dad). There are also many fallen leaves (boo) and so many cobwebs that you have to walk along the paths waving your arms in front of you.

The raspberry canes have shot up and there appear to be plenty of autumn raspberries still to come (yay). That’s a cucumber in the foreground – an outdoor variety called ‘Marketmore’ and I can vouch for its easy-going nature, vigorous habit and delicious cucumbers.

The greenhouse tomatoes – ‘Sungold’ and ‘Gardener’s Delight’ – are prolific. The four tomato plants outdoors are thriving too. They’re not quite as tall as these, but they are cropping well. We’ve already had loads for salads and general munching, and I made a tomato tart for dinner this evening. I may even make chutney.

I planted out our Ammi majus much later than advised (I think it was in mid-July) but happily they are now starting to flower and will hopefully continue into September.

The pears, plums and apples have all done well this year and the branches are heavy with fruit.

The Tithonias are still going strong. I’m so chuffed with these flowers and will definitely plant them again. They are great cut flowers, as well as looking fabulous in the garden. This is one of about 10 plants, so we have had a lot of flowers.

 

Our week away included a few days with my sister-in-law and her family in Cheshire (we don’t see nearly enough of them) where we had good long walks, good long chats, and trips to see some local sights…

While we were in the north-west, we visited Crosby Beach to see Antony Gormley’s Another Place. It is made up of 100 cast-iron, life-size men (definitely men) looking out to sea, spread along the shore. They emerge from the sea as the tide goes out, which is quite eerie, but they have a calm, serene presence. Most of the figures are now covered in sea plants – nature is softening these hard, man-made sculptures.

 

… and a few nights of camping in the completely gorgeous Wye Valley just north of Chepstow on the English/Welsh border. We found a lovely, relaxed campsite with beautiful views and had a very happy few days.

My middle child happily absorbed in whittling a stick by the campfire. I can’t tell you how delighted I was to see him doing this as he usually spends far too long looking at screens. Boy, stick, knife, fire = happy.

And we toasted marshmallows! Over the campfire! What you can’t see is that we were wearing nearly all the clothes we’d brought with us. I completely underestimated how COLD it would get at night.

One of the best ways to see the River Wye is on it, so we hired canoes for a day and paddled a 15-mile stretch (including the rapids at Symonds Yat). After being decidedly unsure about the whole thing, our dog Cassie soon realised it gave her a much better view of the local wildlife, especially squirrels on the bank.

Glorious sunsets, sitting around the campfire watching the stars appear in the sky, away from all the distractions of home. Of course we had the usual teenage strops, tutting and rolling eyes, but on the whole this was the perfect way to reconnect and recharge our batteries.

 

Autumn is definitely just around the corner, waiting impatiently. But it will have to wait a little longer as today has been one of those absolutely peachy, idyllic late summer days. It’s been hot – the car display said 30 degrees which is hot here – so we loaded our kayak onto the roof rack and headed down to the beach for the afternoon to make the most of this perfect August Saturday. I am ignoring the forecast for cool, wet weather next week… I hope that you are having a fabulous weekend too.

That hazy strip of land in the distance is France. The blobs in the sky are from my grubby lens (the darker one is a seagull). I have yet to take a photograph that does the view justice. I’m sure it would involve a different, better lens and more photography knowledge than I possess.