CAN we believe this sunny weather? This time last year we were well into the dullest summer ever, with poor veg crops and borders devastated by slugs.

This year the beds are starting to dry out, with some plants beginning to suffer badly from lack of moisture. The beds in full sun in our garden are most affected and I am beginning to take note of the plants that seem to cope best.

We have well-drained sandy soil which is mulched each winter to give it some bulk, but it still dries out very quickly.

Achilleas and bearded iris are doing well in the most exposed bed, despite only being planted there this spring.

Well-established campanulas and alchemilla are drooping alarmingly and I wonder if it is time to dig the bed over in autumn and start again, with the sun in mind.

Of course, there are no guarantees in gardening, and next year we may have lots of rain again, but at least it will be a good chance to really get the soil sorted out and begin anew.

• Weekend catch-up

WHEN the weather is so hot and dry, some plants in the garden are going to have to be watered to keep them going.

We are saving our washing-up water, filling a large bucket outside, and then pouring this around a single plant as soon as it is full.

Only the oiliest water is put down the sink; everything else can go outside. It looks a bit grim in the bucket, but the plants don’t care.

• In the veg patch

WE HAD a couple of firsts from the veg patch last weekend, with potatoes lifted and eaten and a bunch of sweet peas picked.

It’s always nerve-racking lifting the first crop of new potatoes, as the growth above ground doesn’t necessarily indicate the health of the crop below, but there needn’t have been any worries.

The potatoes were lovely, with enough from one plant for three of us, plus leftovers the next day.

We grew Charlottes this year, a popular and reliable cropper that provides small, new waxy potatoes to begin with and then continues through the summer with increasingly large but still delicious spuds.

They had a tricky start, planted on a cold day in April just as the snow arrived. Despite this, they have almost all grown and the bed looks fine, filled with thick foliage and pale flowers.

The creamy white potatoes hardly need any cleaning and have the thinnest of skins. And what a simple joy, from ground to table within the hour.

The sweet peas were grown from seed in March and planted out at the end of May. I made a frame from three lengths of old wood pushed upright into the ground and filled in with twiggy stems left from pruning shrubs and trees.

The sweet pea plants were then planted at the base of this frame and left to find their way up through the support. They can take a while to settle, but regular watering and the occasional gentle persuasive push towards the support will eventually see the tendrils attach themselves.

Then there is no stopping them as the plants increase in size and push upwards. The first crop of flowers can usually be gathered when the plants get to around three feet tall.

After that, they will provide flowers for weeks. Just keep picking every few days and watering every day while the weather remains so hot to keep the crop going.

 

Open gardens

Tomorrow

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme

Goldsborough Hall, Goldsborough, HG5 8NR, two miles south-east of Knaresborough. Eleven-acre garden and grounds recently restored by the present owners and reopened for the NGS in 2010 after an 80-year break. The grounds include 120ft double herbaceous borders inspired by Gertrude Jekyll, lime tree and woodland walks and specimen trees. Open noon to 4pm, admission £5 adult (share to St Mary’s Church, also open).

The Nursery, 15 Knapton Lane, Acomb, YO26 5PX, 2.5 miles west of the centre of York. One-acre organic garden hidden behind a suburban house on the outskirts of York. The garden is very productive with fruit, including more than 40 varieties of apples and pears, and vegetables grown outdoors and in greenhouses. Informal ornamental planting around the garden provides colour and wildlife habitat. Open 1pm to 5pm, admission £2.50. Also open Wednesday, July 24 2pm-8pm.

Rewela Cottage, Skewsby, YO61 4SG, four miles north of Sheriff Hutton. A three-quarter-acre garden featuring unusual shrubs, trees and architectural plants as well as more than 80 heucheras, 40 penstemons and 40 hostas. Other features include a pond, pergola, stone sunken garden and raised vegetable garden. Many garden raised plants for sale. Open noon to 5pm, admission £3.50.

Stamford Bridge Gardens, Stamford Bridge, YO41 1PD, seven miles east of York on the A166. Three gardens open in this historic village. Grove Lodge has a large collection of plants grown from seed or cuttings together with vegetables, fruit trees and salad crops in a greenhouse. Mill Timber perennials in a large sloping border, patio planters and hanging baskets filled with summer colour and mature trees that shelter the garden along one side. Daneswell House has a terraced garden above the River Derwent. There is a large lawn with mixed borders and a pond and water feature with a bridge. Open noon to 5pm, combined admission £5. Parking in the main car park in the village or the station car park in Church Road.

 

Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

8.30am, BBC2, Monty Don’s French Gardens.

9am, BBC Radio York, Julia Lewis. News from North Yorkshire gardens.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

9.30am, BBC2, Gardeners’ World.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time, advice from Staffordshire.

Tuesday

8pm, ITV, Love Your Garden.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time.