My Garden: 8th August 2015

I am currently on two week's holidays from work so I am trying to do a few jobs in the garden as well as just enjoying being out there doing nothing. Although we've had some nice days, this July has been quite wet and cold at times. It shows in the tomato plants which are all fruiting but not a speck of ripening. From a distance I thought one tomato was starting to blush red but on closer inspection it turned out to be a bit of scab. Sigh.  

My jalapeno plant is flowering its delicate white blooms and you can see a tiny pepper just beginning to form. Last year I got a few small peppers so hopefully I'll do better this year:

My courgette plant was fruiting nicely then seemed to be having some trouble. The flowers were falling off while still tiny, resulting in no fruits, and some leaves were dying off. I cut off the brown leaves and gave it some tomato feed and it seems to have come back to life. I wonder if the excessive wet weather is to blame. The plant needs a lot of water but I think the leaves might prefer to stay dry:

I am growing Indigo Rose tomatoes for the first time this year. The rich black colour deceives you into thinking that the tomato is ripe but it will have to change to a reddish/purple colour before it is ready to eat:

My lavender is flowering but I only get specks of purple with this little white feathery cap on top. I don't know if it is simply because of the variety or if something is lacking. It smells gorgeous but I'd love to get full purple blooms. Please leave a comment if you have any advice for me.

*Edit* I found the original pot that the lavender came in (now housing an Aloe Vera on my kitchen window) and can see that the variety is 'White Spirit' so it is supposed to look like that. I've added in two little plants that I was given by my aunt and they are the standard purple variety, so I should have a nice mix in time.

I planted beetroot in a container near the back door to use for salad leaves and they are doing nicely with a few bonus slug holes. I used soil from the garden, which isn't recommended for container planting, so I'm glad they are pulling along:

I should really get my purple sprouting broccoli in the ground. I have a few plants but this is the healthiest:

Brussels sprouts need to be moved on also:

I have some borlotti beans in a window box. They are planted later than most bean varieties so hopefully I'll get some lovely pink and white beans later in the year. I love the colour of the leaves:

And lastly, I have moved lupins that I grew from seed into individual pots. I won't get flowers until next year but the foliage is decorative enough for me at the moment:

That's it for today. Happy gardening.