A sunny Autumn day
By melchisedec
8 comments
I have just had three hours outside tackling some of the Autumn jobs. It is a beautiful day – warm, sunny and just right for gardening. The leaves are beginning to fall in earnest now (exactly the week that the local authority ceases garden waste collections until next March!) but the Boston Ivy and the wisteria have hardly started yet. The ivy in particular is looking wonderful:
There are a few more leaves to come down yet!
Lots of things are still flowering away, although most of the baskets are finished. They staggered rather badly while we were away. There are a few surprises as well, thanks to the topsy-turvy weather we’ve had this year.
I love this sedum – I have lots of it. Before the flowers colour up, they are a beautiful pale green, then through the winter they dry to a deep brown, while retaining their shape. I never cut them down until the new shoots come through in Spring.
There are no bees left on the Goldenrod now it has gone to seed. I shall leave it for birds and insects.
These antirrhinums have only just started flowering. Unfortunately, they probably won’t have long until the first frost. When it’s a mild winter we often have only a couple of frosts, or even escape them altogether, so time will tell.
I have clumps of these Cyclamen Hederifolium, large and small, in lots of parts of the garden. The beautiful marbled leaves start to appear as the flowers fade and last right through to Spring. My grandmother first planted them in the seventies. They spread very satisfactorily!
I know that cineraria is usually only treated as a summer annual, but I have kept this for three or four years now, and like it even more when it’s not flowering. I cut it back quite ruthlessly, or it flops about all over the place.
Part of the herb bed, which – as usual – is running amok!
The half-barrel pond has been clear for years now, thanks to the mass of oxygenators. They make a good perch for the smaller birds that visit. The pigeons have to balance on the rim! (The orange things under the water are leaves, by the way, not fish!)
I hope you have had some golden Autumn weather where you are, and that – if you have – you have had the opportunity to enjoy it.
20 Oct, 2015
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Good days at this time of the year are glorious, aren't they? I oiled and covered the wooden table and chairs as well today. Last year, they got wet before I got round to it, and they never dried so had to stay uncovered all winter. And the late sunshine has meant that nearly all my tomatoes have ripened. I thought this year's crop was a disaster, but it's actually been one of the best. An unexpected treat!
20 Oct, 2015
Love autumn - except I hate the clearing up of all the leaves. They are falling here like crazy but the colours on the trees has been amazing, what a brilliant autumn we have had, shame the colour is falling fast now. Ah well back to the sweeping brush, lovely blog with lovely pictures. Thanks for showing us. |:O)
22 Oct, 2015
Lovely and sunny here too Mel ! I love that Sedum ! What is it called? Not so many leaves to clear up here as there was at Willow Cottage , thank goodness !
22 Oct, 2015
I love the colours of the leaves on your house and also enjoyed seeing the barrel pond which is such a good idea.
Leaves are coming down in hundreds here and are making a bit of a mess but I am trying to ignore it!!!
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22 Oct, 2015
Oh, Barbara - I know you have lots of leaves too. I clear the lawns and paths, but leave leaves (!) on the borders until spring, when I vac up what's left. I've just watched Monty talking about the wonders of leaf mould. I have made it in the past, I should do it again. But you're right - what a lovely Autumn it has been!
The Sedum is Sedum Spectabile "Herbstfreude" or "Autumn Joy". It's a very common one, but I love it. It is so easy to propagate - just pull up a bit with some root attached and stick it in the ground. Butterflies adore it!
I'm glad you like the "pond", Wildrose. It's actually plastic, but is indistinguishable from the real thing until you're up very close!
Thinking about tonight's GW, OH and I were just reflecting that we have seen very few wasps this year. Having had nests here on at least three occasions, this is quite surprising, but something we have only just realised. Have other people found a lower number of wasps this year, or is it simply a very local occurrence?
24 Oct, 2015
I had a couple questions but see you've answered them all above. Nice garden, love the Boston Ivy.
27 Oct, 2015
Thanks, Paul. It's all rather damp now, and most of the ivy is waiting to be swept up ?
30 Oct, 2015
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Lovely autumn blog! Yes - it was mild and sunny here too so I raked leaves off my 'wild' patch and sowed Yellow Rattle and Nicandra :)
20 Oct, 2015