The Struggling Garden, or Everyone should grow an avocado!

We live in a row of back-to-back terraces. There is a small square of concrete out back, just right for storing bicycles, catching glimpses of our neighbour sunbathing in the nude, and potting up a few plants. Alas, the vagaries of the twenty-first century British summer prove unkind to both naturists and garden pots.

I already had a strawberry, purchased late last summer, which had gamely survived the winter. I sowed seeds in April: aster, dwarf sunflower, and nasturtium. A little later I sowed some basil. Seeds are cheap, and it's uplifting to watch them sprout. And sprout they did; spring was late, but everything germinated nicely.

As you can see from the photo, taken late July, they have done little since. Relentless rain and cool temperatures have failed to inspire. The nasturtiums fell victim to blackfly. But what a lovely plant stand!

Well, the bucket is a nice colour.

But this is the Struggling Garden , not the Fail Garden, so let us consider the successes.The strawberry did fruit, if unspectacularly, and the blackbirds were happy enough to partake of it. That lush little pot in the foreground is an alpine plant I bought in Newgate Market called rock cress.  The large pot next to the rock cress contains an avocado pit, also planted in April; it is just now beginning to sprout. I grew an avocado in Manchester and I knew to be patient. (I also now know to prune it WELL before it reaches the ceiling of one's flat.)

The most successful plant of all is now in flower: a buddleia growing in the wall of our toilet block.

Likes full sun, attracts butterflies, controls minds.

Please excuse the poor quality of this photograph; it really does not do justice to the majesty of this shrub. This is taken from an upstairs window. We do not have access to that side of the block. Our neighbours to the back of us were so impressed, indeed, alarmed at the robustness of this fellow that they took a much better photograph of it, printed it out and gave it to us along with a note (because this is York and people are actually nice to each other here) pointing out that it was destroying the wall . I passed the note along to the letting agency six or so weeks ago and never heard from them again. Maybe this buddleia has powers we don't know about...

When the last of the bedding plants go on sale in late August and September, if I can afford it, I may buy a few and pot them up so we can have a least a few weeks of colour out back. In the meantime, I can enjoy the vivid planters lining the streets of York, keeping our fair city fair.

And next year? More alpine plants.