The corn is still doing very well – though the little one is still noticeably the smallest. The biggest is probably 7′ tall. There are quite a few cobs, so I’m hopeful I’ll have good colour for photography.

The beans are coming along to harvest size. I’ll pick a few yin yang beans to encourage growth for photos, but mostly I’ll leave them to mature for dried beans. The French beans are a bit difficult to watch out for and judge, as they hang so discretely and low among the foliage. A couple of runner beans have reached the top of the netting and more flower buds are coming along at last.

By lunchtime (having also watched the fete parade go past) I’d cleared up the remainder of the ledge nigella and made lots of space to fill again (grr).

I always fret about my veg, because they seem to be slow starters if the conditions aren’t quite right. But the first beetroot are coming up to being picked and the carrots are coming along. The second line by the runner beans needs to be a little thinned and I need to decide on a third line.

I realised when I was puling stuff up that I have different coloured hyssops. I’m not sure I’d twigged that previously. They’re flowering nicely at the moment.

I’ve guided the gourd and bitter melon further up their netting. They’re doing a pretty good job of climbing. The first Jack be little is coming along and the gourds are strong across the plot. I’m still waiting for the Marina di chioggia to get its first flowers.

In the afternoon I pulled up more nigella and went all around the apple tree and cleared it out. The branches are hanging heavy with fruit and have grown pretty long too. Another big prune will be required! Some of the everlasting sweet pea has been untangled from the nigella et al and guided leftwards.

I cleared out most of the nigella along the right hand side and unearthed some more flowers, including the pin cushion flowers and one sweet pea against the obelisk.

Those mystery plants seem to be dotted quite purposefully around the obelisk. And are still a mystery.

In the lemon balm by the obelisk I found a nursery web spider. A big brown spider, guarding its big woven nursery containing its newly hatched offspring.