A visit after tea on the solstice. Heat is keeping me away from the plot; I’ve just had to make my peace with the idea that I can’t be down there in the heat. The grass needs a mow – it’ll probably have to start off with a 3.

I tied up the beans and peas at last. Some of them were on the ground last time and one needed unwinding from having grown through a large nasturtium. If the pole hadn’t fallen down, the netting would have gone up and these things would be half way up it by now. It’s just a weird year.

I watered the veg, but there’s very little growing. I think the crow has been messing about in the bed. So I really should have just put up the tunnel, but I thought I’d find it a hassle to do on my own. Maybe it wouldn’t be. I do have a random sweetcorn in the veg bed though. I lost one of the remaining 4 I managed to plant at the back, so this is its resurrection.

I did a round of bare-hand weeding, so various nettles and thistles were left behind. I’ve made a good difference though. There’s a huge amount of corn marigold in Bed 1, self-sown from last year.

The pond’s not too low and I gave it the remainder of watering cans as I was watering. The dead thyme has revived a bit and is creeping through the rocks in a pretty way. The way thymes grow make them a good pond accompaniment.

The buckets had gathered 9 litres of water. Since nothing needed watering, I put it all in one bucket and put a pole in to give an escape route for whatever might fall in.

Bed 6 was full of poppies this morning. I’ll be collecting their seed for the new house. Down in the corner are also volunteer teasels, which I’ll probably be collecting. I’m surprised that this year’s new teasel has come up to be a spike, but I guess I’ve just lost track of the years.

The mole is around again – a couple of hills outside the gate, and one under the lungwort so far.

I did the deadheading and there was lots of post-rain weeding to be done. Bed 1 was green with weeds and corn marigolds, and a few cornflowers. I weeded out fistfuls of weeds and some corn marigolds to give the tomatoes some space. One tomato has taken off like I’d expect, while the others in the bed have stayed very squat.

I had no more energy to put the terrible zinnias in the new spaces, so I watered them and left them down there for next time.

My pond log pile proved its worth today; a lizard was sunbathing and then disappeared in among it.

I cut down all the big nettles and bits of bramble that had shot up too, so it’s all looking more under control again. The foxgloves in the fern bed and Bed 3 are doing well (and there’s a beautiful white one that’s hopped outside the gate). Some have self-seeded into Bed 2, so I need to see if I can rescue any of those.