Friday 6 July 2018

The Heat

The past two weeks have been hot and dry.  The impact of this weather has been seen clearly in our garden.
With heavy clay soil, the usual problem is a very wet garden.  In drought conditions, the soil turns to a thick dusty hard crust and the plants suffer.  The side lawn is losing the lush green colour and looking very parched.
Some of the plants at the top of the garden in the shade of the trees have died back completely.
The top lawn is able to retain moisture, so the grass still looks good, but stressed trees are already shedding leaves in this area.
At the moment, there is a voluntary request not to water lawns and garden plants or use hose pipes.  Some plants, like this blueberry, have been moved into the greenhouse to protect the ripening fruits.  I have not seen a slug for weeks and all of the snails are closed down for the duration.
The foxes are spending less time in the garden, mum is coming to collect scraps of food to take back to the den.  One concession I have made is to top up the pond to keep the amphibians stress free.  The water butts in  the garden are almost empty now.  Rain is expected in a couple of weeks.  I do not recall this type of weather since the Summer of 1976.

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