July was a dry month in the garden this year;  we experienced two days where the temperature reached nearly 30°C. With over seventy troughs and much more again than that in pots, that caused a lot of watering to be made.  Luckily we have two water sources in Coolwater.

One of the small ponds, home to lots of newts, in the West Garden. This exuberant water lily was thrown into it last Autumn and seems to be delighted with its new location.

Hollyhocks in the top picture and Angels’ Fishing Rods in the lower one, both beside the water garden.

Our 100 litre water butts at the rear of the Alpine House and used for watering ericaceous plants. In a dry month, the water doesn’t last long.

We had quite a few groups visiting Coolwater Garden in July, one of whom were from Austria. This was a welcome sign we made up for them.

An Arbutus marina, a hybrid, believed to have one of its parents from Ireland and the other from California. Pachysandra is the ground cover and Dryopteris filix-mas. the fern.

And last but not least, this is Beaky, our chainsaw-carved eagle cut from a larch trunk. 🙂