This summer finds us at our home in Bexhill on Sea. Which according to our family in Spain, is a good thing. They are all decidedly fed up of the 40 degree plus temperatures that are the norm there right now, rather than the exception. We are getting used to four seasons in one day. Loving the sunshine when we have it and racing outside to enjoy it. Joining in the with locals when it rains saying “oh well, it’s good for the garden”!
I haven’t managed to grow basil outdoors in England yet, so am sticking with my pot on the kitchen window sill.
Outside in our little garden though, we’re making the most of every tiny bit of space and growing a few vegetables for the pleasure of seeing them grow. Green beans are happy climbing up against the wall and the first teeny tiny beans are starting to appear. Big Man is very entertained by the fact that the flowers in England are red. In Spain they’re white and he never believed me until this year that they are different. Oh he of little faith.
We planted tomatoes which are starting to produce strange shaped fruit – we can’t remember what we planted – so we’re just waiting to see if they’ll turn red or we’ll be eating a lot of tomato chutney or fried green tomatoes this year.
Various chilli plants also went in, but the little sticks telling us which were which were “reorganised” by the dogs at the time of planting so we have no idea what we’re going to end up with. We do have a very beautiful black chilli which is ready to be picked, so fingers crossed it’s a hot one!
The parsley and rosemary are doing well, and the chives are happy doing their own thing.
We also bought some mint roots from Spain (it seems to have a more delicate leaf than the plant we bought in England and is lovely in salads and infusions). The plants (grown in a recycled strawberry planter) are just starting to really get going.
Of course, there’s room for flowers too, most of which were already here, I love the strong colours we’ve got. The white geraniums were grown from cuttings from a plant we had in a small pot.
The pears continue to grow, hopefully we’ll get a lovely crop in the early autumn.
And the dogs, naturally, are always on hand to offer advice, help with the digging and showing us the sunniest spots when we need to take a little breather.
Sorry about the picture overload but the light was so lovely today…it made me happy to think how much you can do with just a little outdoor space.
Chica Andaluza 
You must miss your garden up the mountain, but it looks like you are making the most of what you have along with the aire fresco. I Big Man’s comment about the colour of flowers – that’s a good excuse to take some seeds to Spain to have the brightest garden in the village 😉
We are making the most indeed! But it’s s weird about the runner beans. Some English neighbours tried for several years to grow English beans (purely for the colour of the flowers) in Spain but they hardly produced any fruit – perhaps the white flowers keep them cooler and allow the to produce the beans? Who knows, but the experiment didn’t work!
It could be down to what’s in the soil. I wonder what they do in the Queen Victoria district of Huelva?
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrio_Reina_Victoria
What an interesting place – neither of us had heard of it. Now I want to visit! Perhaps they have pink flowers there?!
I’ve forgotten how I first heard of it, but how weird to have a little English village in Andalucia, unrelated to tourism.
I’ve heard of places like this in South America (and Welsh villages) where miners went out there but never in Spain.
Yes, for some reason it does seem more normal in far off places. There’s a Cornish village in Mexico and one on an island in Michigan (both with thriving pasty shops) – but many Cornish miners emigrated after the collapse of the tin and copper industries at home. As you mentioned it’s also common for Welsh coal miners.
Lovely garden. Ours is a bit of a struggle this year what with weird weather and rabbits.
Eek – weird weather AND rabbits….the odds are against you this year L
I am in love with your UK garden Tania! You are blessed with green fingers. I have been wanting to take photos of the couple of changes I have made but alas the rain has not stopped and it seems it is here to stay for the whole week.
Thank you for bringing some beautiful sunshine to my gloomy day and please give the pups a tickle from Aunty Mandy.
🙂 xo
Ah thanks Mandy – it really is a tiny patch, more of a walled courtyard garden but it’s south west facing so gets plenty of sun and is very sheltered. Our neighbour has a fig tree, although I haven’t yet seen any figs! The pups say “more tickles please Aunty Mandy!”.
Lovely garden, makes us so envious as we do not have a garden now. You must have had some sun for everything to grow so well. Our average temp this summer has been about 14deg, since May, cold, wet and windy, lol. Looking forward to our visit to Spain later in the year. we dream, mmmmmmmmmmmmm. xxx S & D
You’ll be back in Spain before you know it! And yes, even though we don’t have the Spanish sunshine here, there is a bit of a micro climate thing going on where we are, so it’s never too grim (although a bit windy sometimes)!
Garden’s looking wonderful. Is a tomato glut on the cards?! 😉
We may have to share….. 😉
I love going home from work at this time of year and flinging open the french doors to the garden. I am considering a Chihuahua to point the sunny spots out to me!!
I think a Chihuahua would be perfect…or I could lend you Luna, she’s the sun goddess in our family!
What a beautiful garden! It looks bountiful to me and I love the red flowers…particularly the ones in your new header. Bexhill looks like a great place to summer.
Thank you Betsy – I think the orange flowers are called Golden Rod…but I could be wrong!
They remind me of what we call a “Cardinal flower” here, but ours are truly red all over without the yellow/orange petals. Very pretty.
I’ve just found out it’s called Monbretia, but now I’m going to look up Cardinal Flower….sounds lovely!
I’ve got a patch of a bulb that flowers very like yours, Tanya. They’re either called Spraxis, or Watsonia (Bugle flower). Can’t remember which.
And I love your photo of basil. As soon as I saw it the scent of it wafted up my nostrils. (Bring on summer, here)
I’ve been told that the orange one here is called Monbretia and that the red is crocosmia (may have spelled it wrong though!). My mum was transporting a pot of basil with her int he train the other day and someone sat on it accidentally. She said she didn’t mind as it smelt so wonderful on the journey! Hope all is well with you all, will write soon, it’s a bit full on here right now xx
Beautiful flowers Chic and the doggies are delightful 😄
Ah, thank you….we love the pups dearly!
Love the pups, the flowers and all your “officinalis” plants….!
Not only in Spain they’re having high temperatures : in Milan we’re dying of heat!
I love my officinalis plants too – they add flavour to everything! Hope you manage to get some cooler weather soon J
Lovely to see crocosmia Ms Chica. I have it and am on good assurance that most of the world is inhabited by this tenacious little plant :). Those tomatoes look like San Marzano to me. If they ripen you are onto a winner! Its hissing down here today. Looks like it’s Stevie-boy and Earl doing a solo stint today (we only have 1 umbrella 😉 ) and the weather has been pretty cold for Tassie. I am not looking forward to the hot summer I am starting to think we are going to get. Note to self. “LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE SUMMER!” 😉
I think it’s a plant with great determination! I feel like I need to send you an umbrella or perhaps one of those headband thingies with an umbrella on top that you can wear whilst you go about your day on Serendipity Farm 😉
I could just see me now Ms Chica. Earl would refuse to walk with me any more. I would ruin his street cred 😉
How amazing Tanya, and an inspiration. I really have to get my garden finished 🙂
Gardens are never finished…always a work in progress!
It sounds like summer at Bexhill on the Sea is lovely…I know your gardens certainly are.
It’s certainly a lovely place to be!
Fabulous to see what’s happening in your summer garden Tanya! I’ve never seen red flowers on bean stalks either… so striking!
The red flowers on beans must be an English thing!
Absolutely love the vigour in your herbs! Even the kitchen-bound basil is smiling! But, hmm . . . methinks those pooches are just having a lovely English summer holiday dreaming of ‘The Mountain’ !! No ‘work ethic’ visible . . .
The basil does seem to be happy on the kitchen window sill. I have an orchid there too which keeps flowering. The pups will have a shock this evening as there is a dog show at the local park and we’re going to see if they are any good at “showing off”!
DO tell after 🙂 !!
😉
I envy you both the pups and the garden. My sheltered north facing garden never grows much well, other than weeds in its very clay soil. The front is full sun when it shows its face!
I have a fig tree in a pot which has three tiny fruit which I am watching with interest, and great hopes.
Ooh good luck with the fig! When we bought the little house in England I was determined to buy one on the side of the road that had a sunny garden! I was bought up in a tall Victorian house with a small north facing garden…I hated that it was always in the shade L
Good looking herbs. I’m, unusually, having good luck with mine also.
Not having much luck though with my coriander/cilantro – it just seems to bolt L
I’ve never yet managed to grow basil. That and sweet peas. Totally beyond me! However I’m determined that our next home will have space for a veg patch. Who knows what I’ll manage to kill off then!
Basil is really hard to grow from scratch, I’ve only ever managed it in Spain. And even with the lovely weather we’re mostly having now in England, it’s happier inside! The joy of gardening (according to me…a complete inexpert) is watching and waiting to see what happens. I am of the approach “shove it in the ground, feed and water, hope for the best”!
I can subscribe to that school of gardening. Vita Sackville-wotsit I am not! 😉
😉 me neither. Although I did meet Alan Titchmarsh once – perhaps some of his greenfingered-ness accidentally rubbed off on me!
Looks great…most unlike a garden in Bexhill ….you’ve brought a bit of Spain with you:)
What a beautiful garden Tania!:) I really wanna have green fingers like you, you blessed, glad to know you have green fingers. You’re Calon Istri Idaman Pria :)x
Thank you!
You’re welcome;)
Isn’t that strange about the bean flowers, Tanya? 🙂 Love the duck! Wishing you sunshine this weekend!
Thank you Jo – we went to an outdoor event last night (Buck’s Fizz – very cheesy and fun!) and it poured and stormed….we got soaked!!!
🙂 😦
Thank you for your article
Once that heat up to 40 degrees Celsius. Ooo..di Spain also basil, I guess only in Indonesia hehe 🙂
Because very tasty basil leaves used as salad.
I love basil and luckily we can get it or grow it well in both Spain and England!
In addition to delicious basil leaves for salad, and have properties to eliminate body odor.
I didn’t know that!
wow amazing beautiful garden once, if only the whole earth is used as a flower garden certainly looks very beautiful as it is in heaven.
thanks for you sharing…
so green , the air is definitely very cool there
ah the dog.. what a couple dog.. very pretty..