It rained! After almost 40°C at the weekend, a few good showers over the last day or two have revived a few plants. But some will be lost. Never mind. A lesson for next year… more grasses and lavenders, sedums and centranthus, which all do well even if we do have damp years in the future.
The grass seems a little greener, although most of what you see is the plaintain and moon daisy leaves mown low.
Just as I was taking the photo today, this flew over!
That blue sky with a cool breeze is wonderful.
I’m also enjoying the blue of the Russian Sage at the moment…
The cone flowers are open now, although they suffered a bit in the strong sun…
And the fennel is a lovely sight too. It barely wilted in the heat, so I think I will have to plant some more in another very dry spot.
Have you ever grown fennel?
Words and Herbs 
Snap! We both featured fennel on our Tuesday post! I described how I use it. It will take all the heat there is and thrive. Your blue sky looks cooler than ours today. The high temperatures you were having have come here now.
LOL! I just saw your post too! Yes, it’s an amazing plant and looks so healthy. Our heat is returning at the end of the week, but the refreshing mid-20’s did us good for a few days!
Yes, I have fennel by the back door and it seeds gently around the borders here. Your perovskia is ahead of ours, we are still waiting for the flowers to open. 40 degrees is seriously hot, how do you cope?
I don’t cope Pauline! We resorted to closing all the blinds, doors and windows and put our air-conditioning on over the weekend. Fortunately it cools down to around 19 at night… My fennel hasn’t seeded itself and I have had it for several years now. I suppose the conditions are just too dry…?
I’m growing fennel for the first time this year, in my community garden plot. Fabulous plant. Glad to hear that it has cooled down somewhat for you, you’ve had quite the heat wave! 40 degrees is a bit much….
It was far too hot, but today was a pleasant 24 and mostly cloudy, so I got out in the garden for a few hours to tidy up some of the frazzled plants! Hope your fennel does as well as mine. It’s pretty indestructable!
Wow! Your 40C temperature is highly unusual I would guess, but everything looks fresh and beautiful. Rain came just in time. I haven’t tried fennel but do like the taste.
You’re right. Another week of drought would certainly have done much more damage, so glad we had some decent showers. The fennel flowers taste delicious before the seeds ripen, but I like the seeds too.
Once you grow fennel, you’ll never be without it. We have heard someone else’s thunder and seen their rain in the distance, but it has all passed us by. It is finally starting to rain a little this afternoon. Hooray! At last!
So you got some rain too – I hope it was enough. We could do with another drop as more heat is on the way!
Klausbernd and his bookfayries grow lots of fennel in Rhu Sila, we like it a lot! Hope it cools down a little. In Norway we had several tropical nights lately, so far North that’s quite something, we’re enjoying a wonderful summer.
Best regards
Dina
So warm in Norway too? Yes, it’s a lot cooler today, but the heat will be back by the weekend, so I am making the most of feeling chilly!
So richtige Sommerbilder. Have a wonderful August – the warm temperatures are going on. 🙂
Thanks Uta. It looks as though the heatwave will continue in August too!
We’ve had some cool and rainy weather too, a lovely treat for both me and the garden.
I’ve got a fennel plant in the garden but it has never really done anything so it’s coming out. I may try again, as I like the bronze fennel leaves mixed in with greens. And I’m waiting for my coneflowers, so thank you for sharing yours!
The fennel here is in the dryest spot in my garden… well-drained stony soil, with tree roots too! It must be over 2 metres high as well. 😀
Oh dear, such heat, how do you cope? Guess it’s hard to find the energy to work. I grow Foeniculum vulgare Purpurascens and love it. Bees and butterflies love it too! Keep cool, Cathy 🙂
I don’t cope well at all Annette! Luckily we have air-conditioning in two rooms, which we resorted to at the weekend! Just moving about outside is exhausting, but today and tomorrow we have relief for a while.
Glad for you Cathy that the wet stuff has arrived. Your plants must be singing with joy.
You’re right Anna, I can hear some humming going on out there… And I thought it was the crickets chirping! 😉
Everything looks so vibrant in your garden, I love the coneflowers. I grow bronze fennel although have to be careful as I grow dill too, they both self-seed (which I’m very happy with) but have to be careful they don’t grow too close together as they cross-pollinate.
Bronze fennel would be an excellent idea for my garden too. I didn’t know it cross-pollinates with dill… the resulting plant would taste odd!
Your garden is looking lovely – nice and green with a backdrop of blue sky. We have a small forest of fennel that has seeded itself into the gravel driveway here. Have you tasted the fennel flowers yet? – they have a really nice, gentle fennel flavour.
Thanks Sarah. Yes, I love the flowers and always nibble a little bit when I walk past the fennel plants… which is several times a day! I save seeds too, which taste good on naan bread. I wonder why mine isn’t spreading….
Hi Cathy! I have grown fennel yes! The first year I grew it, it was very successful and everyone at the allotment wanted to get in on the action! The following year the bulbs didn’t grow as well and were a bit tough, the year after I was staying at my parents and asked Adam to bring us some fennel when he visited….he chopped off the stalks brought those and put the bulbs in the compost bin!!! I’ve never grown it since but I do love it as a veg and as a flower. I’m thinking of planting it into my higgledy-piggledy wildlife border instead. I did hear an odd rumour that it stops the growth of other plants and veg it grows by though, but so many people seem to grow it in their borders now that I wonder if that’s entirely true? p.s. your view is still looking gorgeous 🙂
Hi Anna! I don’t think my fennel is the type for eating the bulb… I think it’s a different plant. In any case, mine would probably be small and tough in our dry ground and we aren’t keen on it as a vegetable anyway. I’ve also heard it affects other plants, but mine is near some solidago and lysimachia, both of which seem happy. Thanks for stopping by Anna. Happy gardening!
Dear Cathy,
I grow fennel and lavender. Every year we have that problem that it is too dry at the North Norfolk coast. But it doesn`t seem to matter for the fennel and lavender. Both herbs have the tendency to spread. I am amazed how high the fennel grows but my fennel is also not that type for eating the bulb.
With greetings from my garden
Klausbernd
Hi Klausbernd! These two herbs will definitely get to play a more significant role in my garden next year, since so many other plants have suffered in the heatwave. I have seen the lavender fields in North Norfolk and know how resilient these plants are. Thank you for commenting, and enjoy the rest of the summer in your garden!
Thank you 🙂
Yes, I grow a lot of fennel. It self-sows all over my herb and tomato patch. It is quite ornamental, I think. The variety I grow has very fine textured bronze foliage.
I think I will have to try some of the bronze fennel in my garden too. I love the way it rises above all the other plants and never flags, no matter what the weather!
I grow the bronze fennel but I have not seen it flower yet although it is at least 2 feet tall.
This one is about 2 metres tall! I wonder if the bronze one is always shorter…. must check on that.
Wonderful shots of your Tuesday
🙂
Thanks Eunice! It’s heating up again now! 😉
80’s F here too but better than 100 🙂
80’s F here too but better than 100 🙂