Summer 2026
This summer in northwest England has been one of trying to keep myself cool and the garden watered. We collect a lot of water here and have properly more than 6 water butts and have still struggled to not use the tap. We also have a lot of garden so not everything can be watered every night. It’s definitely got me thinking what flowers I can grow in future that can cope with the dry summers. However, in previous years we’ve only had extremes of all weathers. Extreme heat, extreme dry, extreme cold and extreme rain so what flowers like this I ask and what’s more do I like them!
I have noticed many things starting earlier and finishing earlier meaning my autumn tidy up is already underway. You never know it might get finished this year.
I am glad I’ve decided to grow less from seed and have less pots because that would have been even more water. I’ve also hardly bought any new plants in months as our clay soil is very hard to dig in this weather.
However, we’ve had some lovely roses and a pot of pansies that I planted last October are doing better than ever. Here are some highlights.












