
I’m joining Helen at the Patient Gardener to share my June End of Month view.
As some of you know, I opened my garden on Sunday for the local hospice as part of a group opening, and I have to say when I got back from work on Thursday I was devastated to see how exhausted everything looked. Despite some watering and tidying there were definitely areas that were past their best, but the show must go on and I actually got lots of lovely comments (and over 150 visitors!)
All the photos, apart from the one above, were taken in Monday’s bright sunshine, and I’ve struggled a bit with the light levels. The one above however, was taken during the opening, and you can see it was a lot greyer. Luckily (for the visitors, not for the garden!) we missed all the rain bar a few drops.
The Swing Beds were definitely struggling, and even the roses which had looked so lovely the weekend before, were going off a little. There are Dahlias and Cosmos and Dianthus carthusianorum (grown from seed) amongst other things still to come here, so I hope I can keep it going.

The Grass Bed has a very limited palette of plants, just the grasses (Stipa tenuissima), looking lovely at this time of year, the self seeded Cerinthe, Allium ‘Hair’ (which has been very badly ‘rusted’ this year), the Verbascum chaixxi Album I grew from seed and the Catananche caerulea, which are new and I just love. However, around all this is much bare soil, following the disposal of all the dead forget me nots, but I’m not sure what else to add. I still have various seedlings kicking around, so perhaps I’ll pop some of them in. 
Above is the new Mid Century Bed which is really starting to fill out. The Ranunculus are still going strong and have now been joined by the first of my new roses to flower, Rosa Munstead Wood, just gorgeous. I’ve also planted some annuals here including Centaurea cyanus Black Boy, Daucus carota Black Knight, Molucella and Malope. The Centaurea are just starting to flower, but hopefully the rest will have appeared by next month’s EOMV.
In the other new bed, the Bronze Bed, some combinations have worked, including this one of Calendula Sunset Buff, Achillea Terracotta and Nasturtium Caribbean Crush.
But in common with the Swing Beds, the overall look is a bit exhausted. However, this picture does show clearly why I wanted the new bed as you can see just how shaded the Oak bed is, in comparison, across the lawn.
In the veg beds, the beans and peas are all rushing up their poles, we’re having the best Raspberry crop ever 
and the Diving Lady has again got somewhere to swim

The raised cutting beds are still looking rather empty apart from plants that overwintered.
But the barrow, which has been a bit of a mess for quite a while, had a good tidy up in honour of the opening, and is looking rather pretty again.
The barrow sits to the right of the greenhouse and this year I’ve added some more orangey plants here too. Firstly the Antirrhinum Orange Wonder, which I’d originally grown for the Bronze Bed but decided there was more room here
and also the Lathyrus Belinensis, grown in pots either side of the greenhouse door. These have been really slow to get going but are now starting to look more settled. They don’t grow as tall as ‘normal’ sweet peas, and nor do they have the same fragrance, but I love their bicoloured flowers and how they work with both the brick and the pot. I just need them to fill out!

And to finish, the one bed looking untouched by the recent heat – the Shady Bed looking cool and calm. 
With thanks to Helen for hosting this meme.