It’s technically October but botanically September. With recent temperatures approaching 25°C and wall-to-wall sunshine, we’re kind-of having the summer we should have had, it’s just several months late. The garden has an autumn tinge to it as most of the flowering is now over and some of the shrubs are defoliating but everything else is taking advantage of the warm weather and soaking up the sunshine before temperatures drop for the winter.
It’s lovely to be out in the garden. The contrast between the neatly cut grass and the wild, late season borders makes for interesting viewing, particularly from the comfort of a sun lounger. I am still desperate to start tidying up and cut plants back, but it’s difficult to do that when they’re still green and some are even flowering. The patio pot plants are still sporadically flowering and there are still lots of bees, hover flies and other insects flying around in the hazy sunshine.
One job that I do need to do is to go around and look at the gaps in the borders and plan what to fill them with next year, whether it’s more of the same from seed and divisions, or a chance to shop at the local garden centres and online, I want to work on filling out the garden with layers of planting: bulbs, ground-cover, perennials and climbers – all tiered one atop the other. Since this requires being organised, I’m not very good at it.
As plants have gone over, I’ve been collecting the seed for annuals and perennials and I’m running low on little bowls and windowsill space is getting crowded. I’m wanting to sow and grow on plants for the local Gardening Club Plant Sale and for the NGS. Some NGS visitors expressed an interest in being able to buy the plants that were growing in the borders and since several of them are so easy to do from seed, it’s one way of raising money while also passing on the mountains of plastic plant pots I’ve managed to build up over the years. I also find growing things from collected seed a complete thrill – because it’s all free – I’m cheap like that.
So for now, I’m still taking it easy in the garden and bracing for the silly season of winter preparation, clean-up and garden-reset in time for next Spring, which – right now – seems to be a million miles away, especially while the warm sunshine fills the garden with a yellow lazy, hazy glow.
