My borders are rampant in Essex. A severe winter. A 2 month drought and a long heatwave and 'April' showers for the past 2-3 weeks has got everything going good and proper. A friend just wrote from Cheshire, not a computer buff, and said their weather was holding back the veg and floral displays. Clouds and rain. My brother came over to East Anglia, visited us, got 3 dry, sunny weeks. One complete dry, sunny week at Potter Heigham in his campervan.....well made up.

Yes I agree with your Cheshire friend. I am in Bolton and it's been dreadful here. Cloud rain... Rain cloud.!!!! I don't think my toms are going to ripen this year.

Any borders I look after are well stuffed and growing away, but only because I kept the water going (sprinkler every 7 days) during the drought in April and May.

I kept the water going too, via sunken bottles too start off......then got desperate waiting for rain, and used the hose for a few days. You can't do much about cool dull weather!

My borders are bulging better this year than ever, I reckon it was due to the really cold snap killing off virus, bugs and deseases. Everything is growing away, and not bothered too much by lack of sun. but plenty of warm rain. It's all looking lovely.

I'm thrilled at the almost complete lack of slugs and snails this year. The thrush kindly ate most of the hibernating snails and I don't know where the slugs are - we were overwhelmed with them last year. But the toads are looking healthy! flowers all doing their stuff except the geranium sanguinium (the pink one is fine but the white just doesn't want to flower at all - never has)