Hotter than hot…

July 2022

This July has been the driest in Suffolk since records began with equally record-breaking high temperatures and an average of just 5mm of rain.

Here the garden has truly suffered - grasses have bleached to a pale biscuit colour and the borders have become stressed and tired. Leaves of some of the most vulnerable plants have shrivelled in the scorching sun and early evening has been the only comfortable time to be outside.

It’s all very sad and adapting our planting schemes to become more resilient to the changing climate could be the only way forward. Some plants in the garden are already on my list of good ‘do-ers’. Verbascum, Echinops, Salvia and Phlomis have all coped well and a clump of ‘Pink Damask’ day lilies has thrived with careful watering but it is hard to contemplate a future when it won’t be possible to grow hydrangeas or my favoured Iris sibirica.

During a month like this I’ve needed a place to escape to and the courtyard garden with it’s shade-loving hostas, acers and ferns has become my early evening sanctuary.

I know that I’m not alone in suffering from anxiety issues in these increasingly troubled times but being in this quiet green space has helped in a small way towards settling my mind.

Bellflowers…

Campanula persicifolia has to be one of my favourite spring flowers. It’s easy to grow from seed, quickly forms established clumps and the flowers are good for cutting.

I made this watercolour study to add to my archive of botanical imagery and worked from a flowering stem I picked in the garden last spring.

It’s one of the new images I’ve included in the new collection of 2023 ‘Garden Days’ Calendars and Diaries. They are due to arrive here any day now and will be available to buy in the online shop soon!

In the studio…

I’ve been busy working on designs for a 2024 Planner Calendar for Heye, in Germany and just completed a small private commission. I’ve joined a weekly portrait painting group and hope to show the results here soon.

I’ll be exhibiting as a guest member of the annual Artworks exhibition in September and hope to see some of you there.

Thanks for reading. Happy gardening, stay positive and stay safe all :-)