Dear garden
It is a couple of months or so since I last wrote to you and much has changed, not changed and somethings have felt like they have gone into reverse. It has rained a lot, crikey it has rained; yet there have still been a few of those nice autumnal sunny days with a hint of warmth that just give enough hope.
We need hope.
Dear garden, you are currently saturated again. It has rained a lot these past couple of weeks and each sunny day we get is prized. There has been the odd cold night but on the whole temperatures are holding up which means everything is growing well including the lawn and the weeds.
In the hedge of trees that flank the side and back of the garden the berries are now in abundance. Autumn is when I think the hedge-trees really start to shine. For some reason I never notice the hawthorn blossom in my hedge, even though I know what a pretty blossom it is. (Now I shall have to make a point to look for it), but I always notice the berries.
The Blackthorn is also now full of Sloes. I am not a liker of gin, so Sloe Gin has never appealed, yet even as I write this I am looking up recipes for Sloe Vodka....
I tend to think of Autumn as being very much about light and shade too. You are shining at the moment, dear garden, when we get some sun.
It seems to be this time of year that I notice the last of the golden light hitting the tops of the neighbouring Poplar trees. I love this moment. It is fleeting and yet so special. I need moments like this to make me stop and pause. You help me do this garden, you are good at this. It was World Mental Health Day recently and I saw someone on Twitter saying that they always like to thank their garden on this day for the support it gives them. So my dear garden, I send you a heartfelt thank you. You do more than you know to keep me steady and when I slip from being steady, which feels increasingly often particularly as the nights get longer and the news no better, you have the ability to prop me back up again just long enough to keep me going.
Your affectionate gardener
Stay safe all and be kind