At last we’ve had some rain over the last few days, although not a huge amount, maybe three-quarters of an inch, it has made a huge difference. There are still deep cracks everywhere but things are looking a bit fresher and it’s certainly helped with plant sales. There were quite a few people buying plants this weekend. The grasses are always a popular purchase at this time of year as are heleniums (I’ve nearly run out) and rudbeckias. The rain and lower temperatures are welcome for another reason and that is that I can start to catch up on some of the potting which has been abandoned for a long time…..a polytunnel is the last place I want to be when the thermometer says it’s almost 40 degrees c. A real plus is that I’ve not had to do so much watering which frees up time for other jobs.

The issue with the compost plods on. I continue to be p….. off when I see how many plants this bad compost has affected. The rep returned with the results of the analysis which showed that there was a fault in the production of a small batch. So it has been agreed that they should recompense me and that should be happening this week sometime. Richard the rep had taken many different samples away with him on the first visit including some pots of basil. when he came back he brought 2 with him, one he had re-potted in fresh compost and the other he had left as it was. In just two weeks the difference between them was remarkable. The newly potted one was green and twice the size of the other one. Since then I have had the frustrating task of re-potting as many of the stunted plants as I can. This is a slow process, the old compost needs knocking off and then the plant has to be put into fresh compost. The real problem is that many of these plants, had they grown normally, would have been put out for sale back in June. There is a time when people buy certain plants and if that plant isn’t ready at that time then the chance is lost. Think of trying to buy a summer outfit in November.

The pond had become very overgrown with bullrushes, water lilies and other pond plants and we’ve had someone in to thin out some of the plants. Those bullrushes are so very vigorous, it’s quite difficult to keep them under control. There’s so much wildlife in and around it so it is a special area.

It’s beginning to feel a bit autumnal.