Midsummer Garden

June and Midsummer's Day has passed and now we've reached July. I always think that June and July are spectacular months in the garden - a culmination of all that you wait for during those dark months of winter. 

There are so many plants blooming and flowering that it's difficult to be able to give each one the appreciation they deserve, but here are few of my favourities from the garden this June. 

Delphiniums and foxgloves amongst the wallflowers

Pots of wallflowers, cotton lavenders and begonias

Shades of poppies amongst verbena, daisies and irises

Lupin time

Perlargoniums and begonia pots

A summer favourite - sweet peas

Nothing like picking your own raspberries

The sweet smell of a summer honeysuckle

Campions and lavenders

Salvias in different varieties 

Summer isn't complete without the heady scent of roses

Hebe foaming on the rockery

Bees and bright cotton lavenders

Take a Look at Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland

Barnsdale Gardens are situated in the county of Rutland, Britain's smallest county. They are made up of a series of 39 individual gardens in an 8 acre site. They were used for the filming of Gardeners World, when Geoff Hamilton used to present the series. July is a lovely time to visit when many of the gardens are full of bloom and looking colourful. Here are just a few of the highlights we saw during our visit.

The Lands' End Garden. A vivid beach hut, gravel and vibrant crocosia in bloom, representing the seaside. 

Daisies making a cool display of colour. 

Terracotta pots and geraniums in the greenhouse - always a favourite!

Sit down and relax for a while!

Astilbes in a shady, cool pond area.

Flowering hosta in the hosta beds.

Beautiful lily opening out in the formal pool and knot garden. Can you see the tiny hoverfly?

Unusual little statue statue in the lily pool - trickling with water and weed.

Beautiful honeysuckle weaving over a trellised walkway. 

Raindrops on the lily!

The entrance to the Artisan's Cottage garden, my favourite garden!

There is always something about a terracotta pot in my eyes...

Quiet little reading area enclosed in roses.

Now I would love a water butt like this one!

Fragrant lilies and delphiniums giving some vivid colour in the borders. 

July in the Garden

July is pretty spectacular in the garden this year. I've been really pleased with the new planting in the front garden where we had a big overgrown tree chopped down earlier in the year. We deliberately tried to choose plants that would come at their best during June and July and be a magnet for the butterflies and bees. We picked various colours of blue, lilacs, purples with a few pink and white plant varieties too. 

The weather conditions during the last year have been good for breeding butterflies and we seem to have literally created our very own butterfly garden, so I've been delighted. Planting out new plants and just seeing how they turn out and what unfolds can be so rewarding! 

Varying heights of purple wallflowers and different varieties of lavender. 

Butterfly enjoying the blue catmint. All the blue and purple plants have been covered in butterflies. Every time we come out of the house and walk past this area we are treated to dozens of butterflies fluttering up from the plants. It has been fascinating, you find yourself stopping and staring, it's not so good if you are in a rush! 

Enjoying some verbena, which is now out in full. 

Delphiniums are out at the back of the borders. 

Wallflowers, lobelia and geraniums make a good combination by the back patio. 

The water lilies are just beginning to flower now, the pond is full of their leaves and blooms. 

Bright pink carnations make a great colour combination with the bronze leaves and pink flowers of the heuchera. 

Sidalcea malviflora flowering in the back border. 

The tomatoe baskets are full of fruit and are ripening nice and early with all the hot sunshine we've been having. 

There are still plenty of foxgloves blooming and popping up in all different places. I love the colour combinations of this one. 

I've made a few pots full of wildflowers planted from seed and they are looking great at the moment, full of vibrant colours. Cornflowers are one of my favourites, I love this shade of blue. 

We have quite a few hebe plants flowering in pinks, blues and purples, another good one for the butterflies! 

There are lots of these little froglets around. We have to look out for them jumping into the house. The pond is full of frogs, when we have the heavy showers we've had recently they all seem to come out of the pond and jump across the garden. It's a mass exodus of frogs and quite entertaining and funny to watch!