‘And will not heaven itself bestow
A beam of glory there
That summer’s grass more green may grow
And summer’s flowers more fair?’
EJB
There is only one thing to say about July: HOT! Oh … two things: DRY!
The garden, flowerbeds and lawns are looking good, but only because we have watered most days and even then the soil is dry. As I’m sure you know we have a budget for the garden which I hope we spend wisely; plants are expensive and we always seem to have room for just one more so, with that in mind, it would be a tragedy to allow them to frazzle in the burning sun and hence the extreme watering. But, as I write, we are finally getting lots of rain, enough for us to stop worrying for a while and see the reservoirs fill.
Earlier this month, Geoff and I had a delightful visit to the gardens of Birstwith Hall, the home of Sir James Aykroyd, one of the Brontë Society trustees. Sir James showed us round his beautiful gardens which were full of colour − the roses and sweet peas were to die for − and his wife, Lady Jenny, made us an afternoon tea rounding off a lovely day.
As at Birstwith, the Parsonage garden’s ever-growing collection of roses have bloomed well, enjoying the warm sunshine. The new Emily Brontë rose has settled in and put on a good show. Right now we are between blooms but after a good deadheading all the roses are showing signs of a second bloom coming along.
This weekend we have been celebrating Emily’s 200th birthday, lots of events are being held at the Parsonage and it has been a great success despite the rain. Sadly I fear the weather will have limited visits to the garden but I hope those who have braved the rain will have enjoyed it. There are lots of late summer plants waiting their turn to keep the bees and butterflies happy well into the autumn.
Enjoy the rest of the summer, as I know Geoff and I will, looking after the Parsonage garden.
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