Autumn Gardening - my, but its been a while!

Haven't blogged at all since ooooh, ages ago.  Sorry about that!

Its been a reasonable summer on the plot but the weather hasn't helped.

Successes this year have been garlic, root veg and surprisingly brussel sprouts.  Everything else has been OK.  Been a little too wet for great crops but you take the rough with the smooth..


some half decent carrots

The first new tatties of the year. Nom nom.

Garlic and onions all hung up to store.  Lovely.  :0)



The past few weeks have seen the real start of the autumn work in the garden.  Our fairly large 1/4 acre garden is surrounded on three sides by a nine foot high beech hedge.  As you can imagine that takes a bit of tidying up.  I try to wait until autumn to do this so as to give the birds a chance.  It saddens me to hear hedge trimmers going in the spring and summer when the hedges are full of nests with eggs and young chicks.  Next time you are tempted think about it - a hedge in need of a haircut isn't that bad a thing is it?

Don't burn all those lovely leafs either!  Gather them up and store them to turn into leaf mould.  If you haven't got room for a leaf mould box or a seperate composter then fill some bin bags with them, poke some holes in the bag with a fork and leave them hidden under some shrubs.  Given time and some good winter weather they will eventually turn into gorgeous crumbly leaf mould - quite simple the best thing for feeding plants in the spring.

Two big leaf mould boxes.

We also have a couple of internal ever green laurel hedges which need trimmed at this time.  Its not a good idea to compost ever greens so we shred them up and take them to the council to compost at higher tempratures than we can achieve and leave a few piled up in the "wild garden" for the hedgehogs to cosy under for their long snooze.


We dont do too drastic a tidy of our cottagy perenial borders either.  We cut back the stuff that will look truly soggy and rank but many of the big plants produce great seedheads that look glorious with frost on, give some shelter for ladybirds and quite frankly give some interest in the winter.  When people tear out all of their annuals and cut everything down in September in a mania of tidyness it really looks sad I think.  Leave the garden to be a garden and with a bit of a cut back in the spring, some mulching with lovely leaf mould and a little organic feed it'll be away again.  Embrace the scruffiness I say!

Before the dreaded winter dig in the veg plot I will need to buy a new digging fork.  My old faithful finally gave up the fight this year and the metal rotted through.  I've had that fork for over 20 years.  I was genuinely upset at its passing.  One new but used purchase (you know what I mean) was an old kelly kettle.  What a fabulous old thing for the shed.  No need to light the gas stove any more I can light some twigs in the kettle and have boiling water in no time lovely and has its own great rustic charm.

I'll be back to post more regularily now that things are slowing down.  Remember to take your time and enjoy the garden.  Even in the autumn there is plenty going on!

Ahhhh, old friend.  :0(

Bloody Weather!

Been a bit weird lately eh?

Last week here in the garden in Dumfries it was 19c and lovely and sunny.  Spectacular spring weather.  Has been for a couple of weeks.

Of course for the garden this brings its own problems.  The young seedlings (of which there are loads) in the greenhouse were literally cooking.  At one point it was 50c inside despite having fully open vents etc.  This meant moving plants in and out to keep them cool - in late March!!! Saved a fortune in heating although it was still cool at night.  No rain for the newly planted onion sets and seeds in the garden.  No rain, for 2 weeks in Dumfries in March???

The perenials have been booming away with loads of new buds and the younger ones have been needing a drop of water

And then almost overnight.....

Freezing cold, howling gales and lashing rain. 

We shouldn't be surprised really.  It is just April!  If we are finding it a shock imagine how the plants are taking it.  They can't throw their coats back on!

2 weeks ago in the local garden centre there were people buying loads of lovely tender bedding plants.  Reminded me of a friend who used to own a successful garden centre.  He told me once that they purposely grew on loads of bedding plants in heated green houses getting them ready for some early spring sun.  They then got them on the shelves asap without hardening them off.  People got summer in their heads, bought loads and got them planted while the sun shone.  Then my friend would hope for a sharp cold spell - like now.  The poor plants of course would die in the cold and a few weeks later he would sell the people more plants, this time hardened off! Kerching!!

I appreciate thats a bugger of a trick but who's to blame?  Don't plant tender plants out when there is still a chance of cold.  Fools rush in.  Its a long time until the cold is past up this end of the country!

Stay warm out there!!