Between Seasons....

The garden really is between seasons at the moment, with much of the autumn color yet to come so that pruning or tidying seems premature. Even the yellowing leaves of herbaceous perennials have their own beauty and after the disappointing gardening year, when there has often been so little colour, those and the interest of the tawny autumn seed heads and jewel like ripe berries have cheered me up. Now that the weather is going colder once again, the Blackbirds have begun to take the berries from the Pyracantha, Cotoneaster and also our Myrtle, which is full of black berries that they seem to love. The other day, there were three of them in the tree clattering around - now I know how the seedlings are spread around the garden!

Pelargoniums trimmed up and potted for the winterThe leaves landing on the lawns and borders continue to keep me busy; I like to clear them off as they fall to stop small plants and the grass from becoming covered in a rotting, slushy mess! I have managed to plant more Tulips in the ground and have chosen pinks, purples and the stripy red and white ‘Sorbet’ which has been planted on our cat, Thomasina’s grave.  We lost her a few weeks back at the grand age of eighteen and a half and she is buried in one of her favorite sun bathing spots not far from the house.

We have had our first frost now, which has blackened the top leaves on the Dahlias in Mrs McGregor’s cutting garden. I have started lifting the tubers and moving them to the greenhouse to dry off before I store them in the garage over winter. The variegated bedding Geraniums (Pelargoniums) have flowered all summer even with the wet weather and I have lifted these as well, potted them up in big pots and put them in the greenhouse where they will be safe until next summer!

With some trepidation, I paid a visit to the allotment after a few weeks of completely abandoning it. Our allotments are a sad looking place at the moment with weeds and deserted plots as well as abandoned crops that have flowered and gone to seed, wasting what effort went into all the sowing and planting earlier in the year. I have to admit to thinking, after all my years of growing vegetables that I ‘had it licked’, but the weather has been too much even for keen veg. growers such as myself to keep on top of the weeds and planting. Apart from my leeks, which seem to be doing well, I have written off the rest of the ground and will start to dig it over as soon as the weather allows and put up a rabbit fence before starting my sowings next spring! Many packets of seed are still sitting on the dresser in the utility room, unopened and I have to admit that strangely, I still get a twist of excitement at the thought of what must surely be a better year in 2013!