Thursday 25 October 2012

Too busy to stand and stare...


Autumn

“The spirits of the air live on the smells
 Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
 The gardens, or sits singing in the trees,”
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat;
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight: but left his golden load.
                                                           William Blake


The fine weekend prompted a frantic tidying session.
The greenhouse is now empty of all except chilli peppers and tender over-wintering geraniums. The summerhouse is full of garden furniture, including my lovely new bench and all seat cushions have been aired and stored in the garage. 
 

Pablo cat enjoying the flowers


The small front garden has had its lawn edges sharpened and the dead foliage of day lilies etc have been cut back to stop slugs and snails taking refuge there. The few roses have had an early prune and the fruit of the ornamental quince is beginning to fall, reminding me to harvest the rest and consider making Sarah Raven’s delicious quince and apple cake. Quinces smell wonderful and I recommend adding some to a bowl of  pot pourri to help lift the spirits during the dark days to come.

Pablo’s garden is beginning its autumnal clearance. I no longer cut everything back, preferring to leave some foliage to dry naturally and leave seed heads both for the birds and to self sow in situ. This works really well with foxgloves, honesty and aquilegia and I give the stems a good shake to distribute the seeds each time I take a wander around the garden.

Use for a home-grown pumpkin

Drying autumnal garden foliage looks wonderful arranged in a vase together with a few stems of honesty. You don’t need many flowers to make an eye-catching arrangement as witness my allotment-grown pumpkin surrounded by a few flowers and foliage picked from the borders of Pablo’s garden.

Happy Hallowe’en

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