At home I checked on my ridiculously unsuccessful seeds and found that all my runner beans had rotted in the compost; some of them had put down a tap root beforehand. There was no sign of sweet peas except for the odd bit of root. I redid all the beans and sowed the few sweet peas I had left. When I got to the plot I (eventually) discovered that one of the big poles had fallen down, so no netting this year. If the beans ever grow, I’ll do wigwams – and I can probably get nasturtiums to go up wigwams too.

There was some good rain last night, which was good for the plot. I saw a female great spotted woodpecker on the elder, which was there for just a moment. I could so easily have missed it.

I need to open up Bed 1 to put my perennials in place for safekeeping, but first of all there was tidying to be done. I sorted through all the logs and branches I’ve been storing. I cut the elder whips down to useful sizes and put the logs neatly under the apple tree. The smaller useful branches have been arranged under the bird feeder for some interest and protection. There are small bears breeches nearby that don’t seem to ever get going.