Struggling for colour

 It's been so lacking in sun and continually wet that the garden lacks much colour. However, the verbascums are doing well and the alpine garden has been good despite the wet.
I have been waging war on the slugs and snails and have collected in excess of 500! I thought I was doing ok until I read an article that said in an average size garden there could be up to 20,000. They have devoured 8 boxes of bedding plants and most of my runner beans. Not to be defeated I am going to sow some more runner beans and raid the garden centre for some cheap plants to fill the wide open spaces!