Slow to grow

Things seem to have been really slow in the garden this year. My leeks are still pencil thin, the runner beans are tiny and the sweetcorn and squashes are only just starting to flower. On the plus side the swallows seem to have done well having at least four broods of 4 or 5 young. Unfortunately the sparrowhawk took to hurtling through the barn to ambush them so we had to shut the middle door to prevent this. The wildflower border is doing well attracting bees, butterflies and hoverflies and yesterday a wood wasp flew into the porch. It looks scary but what looks like a sting is actually its ovipositor for laying eggs under the bark of trees.