Early August garden

You can tell it is August as, at the front of our house we have a Rose of Sharon [Hibiscus syriacus] bush, and it is now in full flower. Originally they hail from India and China and they do very well here -- you can see them in most gardens. One of their advantages is that, once established, they are very drought resistant so you don't have to include them in the evening pot/window box watering routine.

Rose of Sharon by the path leading round to the kitchen door

This year the bush has put on a particualrily spectacular display and its mauve flowers work well with the petunias in our window boxes in front of the bread oven and kitchen windows.

Petunias in the kitchen windowbox

Elsewhere in the garden the wind gusts we've been getting with the recent thunderstorms have meant that we've had to support our little Melrose apple tree, which is bearing its first fruit this year. With five apples ripening we might just manage a small crumble once they are ready! Sadly our cherry dropped its 1st fruit early on and the pear and greengage have yet to produce fruits--perhaps next year.

1st fruit on our Melrose apple tree

Our peche des vignes tree, after a bumper crop last year, has fewer fruits so we will have less peach jam, which is a shame. However, our walnut trees are doing very well, much better than last year when they suffered from frost damage. A couple of days ago we gave a host of green walnuts to Susan as she is making walnut liquer. With at least 4 mature walnut trees all bearing fuit we have far more than we know what to do with!

Emptied hazelnut shells

The red squirrels are in enthusiastic action as the hazel tree-bushes [they are enormous, more like coppiced trees] have produced a bumper crop this year. The squirrels are hard to spot dashing through the foliage, but we certainly hear them. Sitting outside we frequently are aware of a low-level but continuous "ying-ying-ying" like sound which means they are gnawing their way through yet another hazelnut.

Yet to be eaten....

Underneath the hazel tree-bushes the ground is heavily littered with empty shells, evidence of their appetite! There are still some to be found on the branches, but we doubt they'll last long!