*Gardening Journal - Autumn 2012*
By lorilyn57
9 comments
“come…little leaves,
said the wind
one day.
“come..o’er the meadows
With me
and play.”
“Put on your dresses
of red and gold,
For summer has gone..
and the day’s grow cold”.
(Song from childhood…just remember scraps…and don’t know who’s the composer)
In my garden, November is the month for digging before the frost settles into the ground for winter. Collecting wheel barrow loads of leaves from the forest to mix into the soil…lovely oak leaves. There has been a bumper crop of acorns this year. Have secured a few to try planting…but also toured the forest and made note of which saplings are oaks and maples..the rest I will cull.
Calla roots and dahlia bulbs are stored in the basement in trays of peat…the nymphaea is in the goldfish bowl again.. seeds I’ve hoarded are finally in ground, and new bulbs have been planted for early spring. This process is taking a very long time. I wondered when I started if I’d live to see it all take the form I have envisioned…. starting to doubt it! lol.
The mystery rose has given me two lovely long canes and bowed them to the ground…all I had to do was anchor them there for a short time and will give them a nest of oak leaves..and when it comes..a nice layer of snow over top.
The Hibiscus seemed to flourish this year…so lovely but it seems to just get going as the weather turns to autumn. The second hibiscus I have kept indoors…have cut back on water and it’s not getting much light to give it a little rest…then when the days start to lengthen in early January I’ll start regular watering and maybe give it a bigger pot. Hopefully it will be well on it’s way by the time I can put it into the new bed.
The beds are almost ready…and I have the whole winter to look into the rockery I have planned for the front.
Will be looking over the pages on goy and checking out plants in member’s gardens.
woodland plants will simply arrive next spring…I removed some of the scrub undergrowth and I hope that thinning the hazel shrubs won’t adversely affect the tiarella that grows so happily beneath it.
12 Nov, 2012
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Comments
I'm so pleased I have a summer ahead of me, but if today is anything to go by, I think nature might have got it wrong & we are heading back into winter. After some lovely warm days (four of them), it was raining all day yeterday & cold. Today ....no rain so far, but freezing cold! what a dreadful spring we have had.
12 Nov, 2012
we just have to all make the most of the good days with all this deranged weather Dwyllis.
12 Nov, 2012
I love that little poem Lori , it's not only time for your plants to have a rest it's time for you to have one as well you have worked so hard and will reap the benifits quicker than you think ! we have a shortage of Acorns this year also the Ash trees in England have a disease called Chalara it might even be that we will lose all the Ash trees it's very worrying x
12 Nov, 2012
those trilliums look beautiful!
i like that poem ~ google says George Cooper wrote it?
http://thecommonroomblog.com/2005/10/come-little-leaves.html
12 Nov, 2012
Thankyou Sticki! That's very kind. Will be nice to enjoy it in it's entirety.
Amy: chalara...Will give that a google...we have the emerald ash borer...a lovely looking green beetle...and another boring (?!) beetle that's taking out our Maples! It came from China in the wood of shipping pallettes.
Dwyllis: sorry to hear that your spring is as unsettled as our autumn...dear old mother earth is not happy these days...we've been having earth quakes on our west coast...and terrible late season hurricanes on the east! hope we don't have a wicked winter.
Sandra: Hello! Thanks so much, do wish I could hibernate..but all the jobs which I have been ignoring (indoors) are presenting a solid front of resistance for any hibernation plans I may have! Kitchen flooring and cupboard renos...new floor and shower fixture in bathroom...plus painting and winter house snugging...it never ends. Trying not to stress, just doing what I am able and ever hopeful! The PLAN is to have all of the indoor stuff done before I can get outdoors again!
13 Nov, 2012
Winter seems a busy time for you Lori. Rather mild here today and not all the leaves are off the trees yet. Those Trilliums look lovely under the trees. They light up the ground. It does seem that pests and diseases are being transported around the world, and no answer to many of them. We lost all our large Elms many years ago. Now they only grow until they get attacked again as quite small trees, mostly in the hedges.
I hope your winter is not too harsh and nasty and ours too, come to that.
13 Nov, 2012
same here Lori...cleaning never one of my favorite jobs but i've been on a mission to get it all done asap....then its onto making my christmas presents. it will be no time at all before the spring is here..hope u get all your inside jobs sorted...x
13 Nov, 2012
It is sad about the elms, Dorjac. lovely trees....and we used to have them all along the roadsides...towering tall things...the second generation is dying off here as well. very sad.
oh dear..Christmas...it's part of the reason that I have started these projects. I needed the impetus to get the jobs done...so Christmas is it! Can't bring company into this mess!
I was thinking of making some infused oils or vinegars as stocking stuffers.
15 Nov, 2012
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so your all ready for hibernation Lori. me too our temps are still 4 or 5 but with wind and rain i'm inside most of the time now. its been a big year for you with so much getting sorted. enjoy your rest...:-)
12 Nov, 2012