Have we had summer?

I was talking to my son and he said this summer 2012 makes all the last few summers seem really good! He has a point though.

But...Last week we have had a gorgeous week of hot sunshine. We live 5 minutes from the sea and we went for a swim most days. It was my mini holiday. Anyway we have just started picking runner beans, french beans, kohl rabi and of course other vegetables such as courgettes: I grew the courgettes from my own seed they are a round ball yellow variety. We've also had mangetout and sugar snap.

Because we grow vegetables in raised beds I don't think the vegetable crop has been affected by all that rain - that's because the raised beds drain well. I have talked to some gardeners and they say there soil is very, very wet, no wonder with all that rain we have had.

My greens are at the moment caterpillar free, all the rain must have stopped the white butterfly from coming in my garden. But I am starting to see a few.

I have had a wonderful crop of loganberries, tayberry and jostaberry i picked them everyday then popped them in the freezer. When I had 6lbs I made jam with the mixture, I have done this twice so have a lot of pots of jam.