Kitchen Garden Notes - Flowering but not growing

I left last week's notes wondering if the little buds on my French beans were flowers or just yet more leaves. As you can see above they were flowers and now the 'speedy beans' are covered in flowers. It's a very different variety to what I am use to growing. It hasn't grown very tall and none of the plants have been remotely interested in climbing round the bamboo poles. I sowed them on 11^th May and so I definitely know now I will not be getting beans in the 7-8 weeks that what promised on the packet!

The courgettes seem to be growing before my eyes. The first few flowers are just about to bloom. I keep seeing pictures of courgettes fully grown but my fruit and vegetables seem to be behind everybody else's. I know courgette flowers have become quite fashionable to eat themselves but I'm going to leave these until they fully develop.

For the first time I sowed some chilli pepper seeds this year. I have five strong plants with lovely, glossy green leaves. That however is as far as it goes. I don't know if they need bigger pots, more sun or a bit of a feed. I think I need to do some research on them.

Two years we bought a Bramley apple tree from the local supermarket for £5. We've always had it in a big pot rather than in the ground. Last year we had one very small apple but nothing else. I know it takes time for fruit trees to get established so I wasn't worried. This year there has been been plenty of blossom followed by a lot of fruit. They have though it seems stopped growing which for Bramley apples renders them pretty much useless. We already have plans to plant it into the ground this autumn when we clear some of the strawberry bed. I hope this helps it out for next year.

Another supermarket buy was a pair of red currant bushes. One has grown but hasn't fruited the other has just produced the two currants above. At this stage they have a translucent quality about them. Two unripened red currants though a feast does not make. Both are planted next to the garage wall and get full sun each day (because everyday in Yorkshire is sunny of course!). I now know that they prefer shade so I think they may be on the move later in the year.

This week's greedy bird is a collared dove. It hasn't worked out yet that it is far too big for the seed feeders and they are really meant for far smaller birds like sparrows. I haven't been able to capture a photograph of it on the feeder because being so large it spends its time swinging around on it.

The main hydrangea bush in the garden is still in full bloom and will be for several weeks now. Also in the garden I have a white hydrangea. Most the heads on it have a ring of white flowers round the edge and small blue flowers in the middle. I haven't worked out what variety it is as like the other hydrangea it was in the garden when we moved here.

Next week I hope to give you glimpse of something else in my garden that is both growing well and very edible...