Sunny Thunder

Well, the day started well enough with nice warm sunshine, but finished with a thunderstorm. In between times I managed to get quite a bit done.
Once again however, no pics as the camera was requred elsewhere (younger daughters first day at Primary School)
After tying in and sideshooting the cordon sweet peas, I removed any blooms that would be over by Friday (the day before the show) and any that had less than 4 blooms. I have to say that the plants have responded well to being layered and seem to be producing more flowers than before -but then again, maybe, just maybe, that's down to the week of sunshine we have just had. Whatever, things are looking on track for the show (and Sally's recently ordered Bikini Vases arrived today too so it's all systems go for Saturday).
I then watered and sideshooted (or should that be sideshot?) the tomatoes in the greenhouse and removed some more of the lower leaves to assist ripening and aid ventilation round the plants.
Next I lifted the remaining onions from the veg patch - there were a few that were rotted at the bottom of the bulb but the majority had good healthy roots and required a fork to lift them. After cutting off the roots and scraping off any soil, these were put on the greenhouse staging to dry out before I tie them a la Onion Johnny.
I also lifted two plants of Desiree potatoes and these were nice and clean and surprisingly large, along with a couple of handfuls of carrots.
Then it was out with the Glyphosate and on with the knapsack sprayer - 3 fills later and all the new growth that has appeared since strimming the middle section of the garden and the area designated for the veg patch has all been sprayed off. I also sprayed off all the pathways in the garden.
A lot of plants in the border are now between flushes - the Geraniums, lupins and oriental poppies in particular, and the borders look a bit empty -this isn't helped by the fact that the large campanulas against the wall are all but over, and most of the Peruvian lilies are over too. This is gonna make it harder to get a vase (or a bucket) of perennials to show on Saturday but we'll manage something I'm sure.
I finished the day off by pruning the new growth off the shrub roses so that we can see the hips properly when they ripen, dead-heading the Happy Birthday rose, and dead-heading some more lupins.