The weather: mainly a blessing

Six year old out on the lawn, 7 May 2015.  Where has that sun gone?

I should be happy to live in such an easy climate for gardening.  Winters are mild and hardly ever get too cold.  There's plenty of rain, and no need to irrigate.  There are so many kinds of vegetables that love a mild, rainy climate. 

It's not just the vegetables that love a mild, rainy climate;  slugs love it too.  But let's not go there.  Plenty of my vegetables are growing right now with little bother from slugs (except zuccini, celeriac, and possibly beets).  In fact, some vegetables are positively thriving in this mild, rainy early summer:  my onions and peas are growing away merrily, as are the chard and kale. 

Today, 2 June, is the third day in a row of around 12C-ish daytime temps, and complete cloud cover.  It hasn't rained for these three days, but there's been a brisk wind, making it feel even colder.  I'm wearing two woolly cardigans today and still feel cold! 

But really, why am I not used to it by now?  June in England is generally cold and rainy, especially during Wimbledon (the tennis competition).  It reminds me of my home in Portland, which always seemed to be the same during the Rose Festival (also in June).  However, by July Portland is blazing hot and dry, whereas here it'll most likely still be cool and rainy.  I've noticed particularly that it always rains here on 1 August, after a possibly less cold, less rainy last week of July.  Will it do so again this year?  Probably.  It's the British national pastime, complaining of the weather.

As it is, I'm spending very little time in the garden because it's too cold!  And watching my poor zuccini plants not growing but succumbing to slugs, one by one.  If they had a few days of sun they could shake off the slug damage, but without it they can't grow and recover.  Ah well.  Hopefully a couple of the zuccinis will hold on till the sun makes an appearance.  At least the peas are flourishing.