Is there a more exhausting job than hauling long one-inch diameter hoses full of water around a garden and remembering to turn them off and on? Probably, but at the time it doesn't seem that way. After all the rain in June, July has been incredibly dry at West Dean, great for flowers but not so great for vegetables.
Let the countdown to Chilli Fiesta commence... only 4 days to go! The kitchen is heating up with many chilli-related cooking demonstrations, talks and even a Q and A session over the festival weekend.
Oh July! The month we've all been working towards from the beginning of the season thinking unreasonably that we will be on top of all the early seasonal work by the time it arrives - not so!
Flaming June...or it would be if only we stopped, stood and saw the magical scenery around us. Gardeners tend to keep their heads down at this time of year to plough through the work.
25 Years of Glorious Gardening
A new 25 Years of Glorious Gardening photographic exhibition opens today in the renovated 'Mushroom Shed' at award-winning West Dean Gardens.
Here's how the marketing team's Demon Reds are coming along...