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<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\nT<\/strong><\/em><\/span>HE VILLAGE GARDENER<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The Foraging Season Is Upon Us<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n We are reminded again of the changing weather patterns, as we witnessed the third heatwave of the year in the UK by the 2nd week of July. The long dry spells and longer wet spells are becoming the norm as highs and lows take longer to shift across Europe. We won\u2019t alter these patterns, so must do our best to garden as conditions dictate. It is very easy to forget about what\u2019s best to plant when visiting garden centres with the immense choice and quality. The challenging conditions must dictate how much effort we are willing to put in to keeping the plants healthy and drought free.<\/p>\n Growing from seed is the best option, losses have less impact on our finances. Pelargoniums are difficult from seed, as they need special conditions to germinate. Buy as plugs and bring on before planting out, these plants need little water and will flower until the first frosts with a bit of feed and some deadheading.<\/p>\n Herbaceous geraniums are another good drought tolerant plant, that can be cut right back after flowering and will give another display before summer ends. Most shrubs once established are quite tolerant of dry conditions. Lavender is a very good choice and thrives in poor soil. Buddleia and holly will also serve you well when conditions are tough. This year the roses in the borders have flourished. The ones in pots and containers need more water and attention. Keeping plants watered during long dry times is a task. Irrigation systems for containers and soaker hoses for the flower beds can save up to 70% on water compared to a hosepipe.<\/p>\n The foraging season is upon us, with blackberries and damsons the first of the summer fruits that are free. Just look out for Barry Oliver; he knows the best places. He believes that eating fruit in season has kept him young at heart. Considering his age, it seems he\u2019s telling the truth.<\/p>\n The allotment folk have had a busy time with the extra watering. This effort has paid off with a bumper harvest, the best of which may hopefully be entered into the village show. Some are a bit shy of showing off their produce while harvesting. Mike always asks Paula to hold up a sheet to protect his veg from prying eyes when digging up his produce. The allotments have been well tended this year according to the old folk, Colin & Bernard.<\/p>\n Twyn Yr Odyn leg end Gareth Lewis will leave no stone unturned in his quest to gain an advantage with his tomatoes. In July he took some seedlings to a Slayer concert to get them blessed by the band. Unfortunately they confiscated them at the security gate, believing them to be something that only grows in attics under strong lights. Please enter the village show on September 6th and show what can be produced, to encourage others to start growing.<\/p>\n Take care and happy gardening.<\/p>\n THE VILLAGE GARDENER The Foraging Season Is Upon Us We are reminded again of the changing weather patterns, as we witnessed the third heatwave of the year in the UK by the 2nd week of July. The long dry spells and longer wet spells are becoming the norm as highs and lows take longer to shift across Europe. We won\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[424,77],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-47M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17365,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=17365","url_meta":{"origin":15858,"position":0},"title":"Goodness Me! Where Has the Time Gone?","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st August 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Goodness Me! Where Has the Time Gone? I\u2019m now planting daffodils in pots ready to put into borders so that when they\u2019ve finished flowering, I can remove the pot, give them a foliar feed and then let them die back in a quiet corner ready for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for September 2026"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for September 2026","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=438"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14362,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14362","url_meta":{"origin":15858,"position":1},"title":"So Much To Be Getting On With","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th June 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER So Much To Be Getting On With As always there is so much to be getting on with in our gardens. Regular watering is another task to add this time of year, along with weeding and feeding. All this is essential to make the best of our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14916,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14916","url_meta":{"origin":15858,"position":2},"title":"The Festive Season Is Upon Us","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th December 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER The Festive Season Is Upon Us With the festive season upon us, the garden gets a bit neglected. That is probably one of the reasons artistic gardeners say we should leave the dead stalks of perennials standing, as it gives structure to the plot. It\u2019s bad enough\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14730,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14730","url_meta":{"origin":15858,"position":3},"title":"The Veg Gardeners Of Wenvoe Are Still Busy","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd October 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER \u00a0 The Veg Gardeners Of Wenvoe Are Still Busy The RHS have made it quite clear that the use of water butts must be a priority for anyone with a garden. We are asked to be prepared and start storing ready for next year by fitting them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13196,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13196","url_meta":{"origin":15858,"position":4},"title":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER \u00a0 Two expats, Sean Connor and Penny Wise, give their thoughts on aspects of gardening. Sean Connor 1. Consider turning a small area of your front garden into a veg patch, it will create interest and, if kept well, will be an asset. 2. Do not overdose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17179,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=17179","url_meta":{"origin":15858,"position":5},"title":"The Queen of Foraging Plants","author":"Alan Williams","date":"29th June 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"THE QUEEN OF FORAGING PLANTS So, once upon a time, the Vale of Glamorgan was pink. These days the predominant colour in the fields is yellow with Oil Seed Rape. But before tractors arrived and up to the 1950s you could expect to see acres of a pink, reddish crop.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nature-Notes-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15858"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15859,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15858\/revisions\/15859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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