What a year with young Kelty!

What a year with young Kelty!  The garden took a serious back step and a few plants disappeared with Kelty's digging antics.  This first year of Kelty in our lives has taken a lot of time and energy but that is the joy of a rescue dog.  We have made some progress and as she matures hopefully she will create less damage and perhaps confine her toileting to just a few spots!!!

Kelty is very fast and it looks as though she is
flying through the yellow catsear at the farm

I have sourced Rhododendron 'Rocket' from Rhodo Direct in West Melton, Canterbury.  I collected it in July 2025 and the plant had six big fat buds and I didn't want them to be frosted since the climate here is probably colder and in its nursery setting was under shade cloth. I put it in the glasshouse until the worst of the frosts had passed. On advice, I decided to plant on Rocket's resting place and amended the hole with bark and lots of pine needles.  It flowered beautifully and I have been watering with rainwater when it has been dry, as it is a very gravelly spot about 60cm down - a remnant I suspect of an old riverbed.  The wind has been atrocious this summer season but it does have a little shelter.

Rocket has smaller and frilly blooms