We had some much needed rain from Monday evening into Tuesday, then on-off showers for the remainder of the week. This morning is sunny and very warm. Wales has declared a hosepipe ban with effect from 19th August, so with one completely empty water butt (which needed to be moved so my husband can fix my Potting Shed roof) I have placed it by the Tiny Greenhouse and we will tip all our grey water (non-greasy dishwater and water scooped into buckets from the shower) and use it on flowers and shrubs. I have plenty of home-grown flowering plants to put in the front garden but with hotter weather forecast this week, they will have to wait. I have gathered what pots I can (dahlias, tomatoes etc) grouped them on one of my raised beds so when I water the pots, other stuff between them also gets the benefit. Enough of my weather woes, we are all in the same boat, so I’ll get on with this weeks Six on Saturday.

A cutting of fuchsia ‘Chillerton Beauty’, I have three flowering so am very happy.

The callicarpa I bought earlier this year has outgrown its pot – again. This will be the final pot before I plant this in the front border when the weather cools down or we’ve had a week of rain!

Ragged Robin, grown from seed. I need more of this in the garden.

Chrysanthemum ‘Snowdrift’ has settled into its position in the shadier part of the front border, but I’ll be moving it again in autumn.

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Rustic Dwarfs’ – I like the one on the left; not sure about the other – either way, they are about the only thing flowering in the front border apart from the chrysanthemum above, allium Drumstick and a couple of fuchsias. But I have plans, and plants, waiting in the wings.

The Japanese practice the art of Kintsugi, mending cracks, faults and breaks in china and pottery by filling them with liquid gold. They also came up with Sashiko, a form of visibile – rather than invisible – mending that uses patches of material and decorative embroidery, making a feature of a hole or worn area. I wonder if a word exists for? When one half of your favourite (and only) summer gardening footwear splits! It works a treat!! (Apologies for the scruffy state of said footwear.)

That’s it for this week. I’ve retreated indoors with the windows open and the blinds closed, and will spend the afternoon adding another chapter to my Open University final project and avoiding the Commonwealth Games and all the other televised sporting events that mean my favourite gardening programmes (Beechgrove and Gardener’s World) are either cancelled or shunted to a different time or day.

Have a lovely weekend and stay cool, calm and collected wherever you are.